Zoids: Mirror Universe
by ecyor0
Summary: The start of what will hopefully be a series of short, episodic stories, uploaded in chapters. Setting is the Chaotic Century/Guardian force timeline... but not the version we are familiar with...
1. The Boy from Planet Zi

**Zoids: Mirror Universe**

**Ep.1 – The Boy From Planet Zi.**

The desert wind gave a soft moan as it crested the dunes, the faint sound only accentuating the intense silence of the wasteland. Bare, featureless, almost devoid of life...

But not totally devoid of it.

A peal of laser fire stuttered through the air, smacking into the sand and sending another cloud of dust up in front of the hoverboard. The boy riding the board flung up his hand, swerving to avoid a mouthful of the stuff. The Guysack chasing him let loose with another burst of laser beams – the pilot was still wide of the mark, but his aim was steadily improving. The boy gritted his teeth. At this rate, he'd be a smear on the ground before too long "Hey, what's your problem anyway!" he yelled back as he zig-zagged back and forth. "What did I ever do to you?"

Inside the Guysack, the pilot grinned. "Oh, nothing at all" he chuckled to himself. "You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, buddy. I've been waiting for a spot of target practice ever since we started this patrol..." he pressed down on the fire button again, sweeping the ground in front of the scorpion zoid. The kid barely managed to kick the hover board into the air before the rounds exploded where he'd just been a split second before. Swerving out wide as he regained his balance, he looked around wildly for something – anything – other than the endless sands. "Of all the days I managed to sneak out, it has to be **this** day..." he muttered to himself. "But I'm gonna outsmart this punk – or my name's not Raven!"

* * *

A few miles out from the chase, a pair of men stood on a sand dune, their desert-yellow command wolves blending into the sand behind them. "Look at that kid" said the one with the vidi-binoculars. "Getting excited over a kid on a hoverboard – it's almost embarrasing."

"Give him a break" said the other. "Scouts almost never get a chance to fight, and that kid hasn't been in a strike force since he joined the unit."

"Still... it's just not professional. The Republican Army is a disciplined fighting force – strength through unity, unity through force and all that. Chasing down a kid in a scout Guysack is hardly going to impress anyone."

"The kid did see us though – he's got no business being this far outside his village's designated zone. For all we know, he's an imperial spy. And as for not impressing anyone... Not having compunctions about chasing down civilians, no matter how innocent they seem? That's sergeant material right there. 10 credits say he's promoted by the end of the tour of duty."

"You're on." said the first soldier.

* * *

Raven swerved his hoverboard down into a trough between two dunes in an effort to throw off the Guysack and gain some distance. Banking so sharply the engines bit into the sand, he fishtailed up the dune ridge, launching off the bank and down onto the sand below. He turned to check on the Guysack – and found it had vanished completely. Instinctively, he slowed down as he searched for it. "Where'd it go?" he asked himself as the sands became quiet again. He was caught completely off guard when the Guysack erupted from the sand in front of him – only his lightning sharp reflexes saved him from being crushed in the thing's claws. Jumping up as the claw plunged down, Raven used the sudden upsurge in anti-grav propulsion from the metal claw to boost up and over the Guysack, skipping past the tail and skimming across the sand, gaining a great deal of ground as the zoid turned itself to give chase again. "Dammit, where's a cave when you need one?" Raven did another scan of the desert – and saw what had been obscured by the high dunes. A great, oblong structure, looming out of the desert in front of them; a derelict fortress, looming out of the sand in front of him – a relic of the old war. The Helic Republic didn't use them anymore – the invasion of the Guylos Empire was employing fluid, lightning-raid battle tactics that had little use for permanent, heavily fortified structures, but a lot of them had been left more or less intact, being too remote and dilapidated to be economically viable for reclamation.

"Perfect!" Raven grinned in satisfaction. "There's no way he'll be able to follow me in with a Guysack!" Revving up the engine as far as it would go, Raven leaned down into the wind, rocketing towards the edifice ahead of him. It was a close call – though he could match the speed of the Guysack on the straight, the constant swerving to avoid gunshots was slowly whittling down the distance between them – and the detour he had to take to avoid a derelict zoid didn't help matters. By the time he reached the fortress, the scorpion was snapping at his heels. He shot straight through the entrance, barely keeping his balance as the Guysack slammed into the stone, the pilot having been completely focused on his prey. "Oh, clever, clever..." the Republican scout backed up his zoid, claws snapping. "But you're not getting away that easily – I'll tear you out of there with my bare hands if I have to!" Raising the tail, he let loose a stream of laser fire at the wall above him. A shallow crater was blasted out of the stone surface. Inside the fortress, Raven was thrown off his hoverboard, landing with a solid 'thunk!' on the floor.

"Owww..." Raven winced as he stood up, rubbing his tailbone. There was another crash of laser striking stone, and Raven stumbled as he picked up his board. "No point staying here" he commented as he ran deeper into the facility.

* * *

"Alright, that'll do Private."

The republican scout looked behind him as the two command wolves loped to a stop behind the Guysack. "Stay outta this!" he growled. "I've got things under control."

"Oh really? Looks to me like you're hitting your head against a brick wall. Literally."

The scout fumed as his superior pulled him up. "Okay, okay, I can't get to him, you win, I'll leave him be."

"Hey, I didn't say leave him alone, I just told you to stop. We can't have a kid like that running round – we're just here to give you a little help... Alright Dorelo, fire on my mark; let's bust this place wide open."

* * *

Raven peered into the dark room, hesitant to step in – the room seemed much larger than it was in the dim light. The dull thud of the shelling outside goaded him forwards. After all, this was perfect – at the end of a long corridor, no doubt deep inside the fortress (he hoped – he'd actually lost his sense of direction a while back), and with an entrance that Raven had only found because a section of wall had fallen off during one of the bombardments, this was the perfect spot to wait for the soldiers outside to give up and go home. They'd lose interest soon enough. Republican soldiers didn't care enough about the outlying villages to take time out of their schedule to play hide and seek. They just sent the collectors round to collect the tariffs and left a few craters in any village that didn't pay up. They always payed up next time. The system kept the fledgling Republic functional quite effectively.

The Guylos Empire had of course tried to quell the rebellion in the far east of the continent, but due to internal politics and the emperor's own indifference to the latent danger, the Helic Republic had gained enough momentum to establish itself as an independent nation. And like so many radical freedom-fighter movements, they had become a dictatorship more tyrannical than the empire they were even now striking back at in retribution for the losses they had suffered during the revolution. Although how they could justify storming their way through clearly civilian towns to "eliminate potential threats to national stability" was beyond Raven. Maybe they didn't even worry about justifying it. With the President's extensive secret service, they certainly didn't need to worry about insurgency – only a fool would try to stand against the warped wheels of justice that powered the nation.

Glancing around the room, Raven noticed with surprise that there was a dim red light blinking on the wall next to him. "Strange" he murmured. "Why does this place still have power?" Reaching over, he pressed the switch. There was a low whirring hum, and beads of light began to run along the ceiling, recessed lights activating as they zig-zagged back and forth along the grooved channels. Raven found himsefl in some kind of laboratory – unlike the rest of the fortress, the walls here were gleaming, and functional equipment still blinked and chirped as it booted up from decades of inactivity. And there, in the middle of the room, were two structures – one was an oval vessel, clamped at either end by electronic stands that branched out with numerous cables and wires. The other structure had probably been the same thing, once upon a time, but only a few shards of the green glass remained stuck to the supporting structure. Raven came closer to the intact pod, peering inside. Behind the glass, a murky liquid obscured something – a vague shape with a wedge-shaped head and the long, powerful tail of a dinosaur-type zoid. Strange – if it was a zoid, it was incredibly small. Wild zoids were very rare now, and the dinosaur-type zoids especially had been, for all intents and purposes, hunted to extinction. They lived on in zoids like the Godos, but for a natural dinosaur-type zoid to still exist... Raven pressed his hands against the glass, gazing in wonder. It had been a while since he'd looked at a zoid with this much child-like admiration. So focused was he on his find, that when the shape stirred, it's eyes pulsing vibrant blue, he started back, accidentally hitting a switch as he pushed himself away from the pod. The low hum of energy swelled to a resonant throb as the pod began to glow with light. Scrambling back against the wall, Raven looked on in awe as cracks lanced across the glass surface. With a hiss of steam, the pod burst open, and a shape spilled out onto the ground.

Now that it was clearly visible, Raven could see that the zoid couldn't really be called a dinosaur – if anything it was a dragon. Two raised fins, like folded wings, protuded from its back, and fluted spikes radiated back from its face to shield its neck. The long tail twitched as the zoid pulled itself to its feet, looking around to take in its surroundings. Raven didn't see it do so – he was already running down the corridor like he had a ghost after him.

* * *

Raven pressed himself against the wall, chest heaving as he risked a stop to catch his breath. He glanced back down the corridor – no sign of it. Of all the things Raven had been expecting, that had been the last. He was lucky he'd got out of there before it gained it's bearings. Raven took a few deep breaths, and then started running again. He needed to get out of here – forget the Republicans, anything was better than being stuck in the same building as that.. _thing_.

Suddenly an ear-splitting crash pierced the air, and the corridor wall ahead of Raven cracked apart, revealing the Guysack scout. Raven instinctively went to start his hoverboard – and realised that in the panic of seeing the zoid in the pod, he'd left the board behind. Now there was no way he could outrun the Guysack, and nowhere he could hide, not in a corridor this big. "You're mine now, you little brat!" the republican soldier crowed in triumph as he brought the claws down on Raven. The boy flung up his hands, helpless to defend himself – and looked up in surprise as a blazing white bolt of light arced across his head and ricocheted off the Guysack's cockpit, leaving a large crack along its length. The bolt earthed into the ground in front of Raven, coalescing into the hunched shape of the dragon zoid from the lab room. Raven gave a strangled cry of fear, scrambling back from the zoid. For it's part, the dark grey zoid simply looked over its shoulder at him. It gave a contemplative growl, before turning and coming back to him, paying no attention to Raven's attempts to back away.

"Get away!" he yelled, voice cracking as his throat tightened with fear. "Get away from me! GeAAAGGGHH!" Ignoring Raven's frantic struggling, the zoid clamped its jaws round the scruff of his collar and deposited the boy on its back, between the fins. There was a hiss of pneumatics, and the fins opened, unfolding into a pair of bat-like wings, the membrane between them strangely organic for a zoid. Leaning forward into a sprint, the zoid barreled down the corridor away from the Guysack, forcing Raven to clutch the thing's neck to keep his balance. A single flap of the wings, and the zoid took to the air, skimming down the corridor even as the Guysack sent a spray of lasers after them. The dragon-like creature banked sharply, rounding a corner, then pulled up sharply to navigate a flight of stairs – in all they were probably only in the corridors for half a minute or so, but the trip took an eternity to Raven's panicked mind. Finally, bright daylight stabbed through the dim gloom, and Raven's steed rocketed out of a window high up on the fortress. Raven risked a look down below – two desert-yellow command wolves were outside the fortress, and the Guysack was just emerging. At that point, the dragon zoid banked sharply again, going into a steep spiral that left Raven convinced they were going to slam into the sand. At the last minute, the zoid flared its wings, pulling out of the dive in a sharp, upside-down loop that threw Raven off its back and deposited him into... a zoid cockpit. Raven looked around in surprise. It was the derelict zoid that he'd passed on the way here – now that he had a chance to look at it properly, he saw that it was an imperial Zaber Fang, no doubt abandoned during one of the ill fated attempts by the Guylos Empire to take down the Republican defensive line. Not that it was much use to him in this state. Looking up, Raven saw the dark grey zoid standing above him.

"What do you want from me?" Raven demanded. "Why haven't you attacked me yet?" The zoid tilted its head to one side, as if it had understood Raven, but had no idea what he was on about. Finally, it gave a shrug and looked out to the side. Raven followed the direction of its gaze, and saw the Guysack bearing down on him, flanked by two Command Wolves that had started firing long-range shots at the derelict Zaber Fang. "Dammit!" Raven cursed as the shots impacted in the sand around him. "I'm a sitting duck like this! What are you-" he looked up at the zoid, and saw that it was leaping into the air, wings flapping as it gained height, before it sublimed into a bolt of white light which shot high into the air and arced back down, piercing through the back of the Zaber Fang. A strong wind kicked up, obscuring the approaching Republicans behind a screen of sand. Raven made to climb out, hoping to hide in the confusion – and found himself stuck as the rotted remains of the cockpit harness re-grew themselves, holding Raven down as, before his eyes, the stoned-over surface of the control console shed its years of decay like a snake shedding its skin. Dead screens gleamed as previously non-existent combat systems came online. The dull red of the rusted exterior became a shining, deep blood red, and the open cockpit closed itself, view screens crytallising into place over the empty eye sockets like ice on a window. Finally, with one last surge of wind, the sand was dispelled, and the Zaber Fang raised itself up, letting loose an exultant roar as it tasted life once again.

* * *

"What the- how the hell did he do that?" one of the soldiers exclaimed, faltering in his attack.

"Calm down, Dorelo" said the other. "He's just a kid, he's in an imperial zoid so even if he had some experience with piloting, the control scheme would throw him off. Besides, the Zaber Fang's a high-performance combat machine – I hear it takes a year of full-on training just to qualify for a basic model. There's three of us, and we're all trained soldiers. There's no way he can win. Now follow my lead – Private, head right and lay down cover fire, Dorelo, charge straight ahead, all guns – I'll head out the the left and snipe out his control conduit. Okay, go!"

The republicans fanned out, laying down a blanket of fire as the Zaber Fang sprung forwards to meet them. The Zaber Fang was lightning-fast; it gave a jink to the left to dodge the Guysack's fire, followed by a lunge at the first command wolf's jugular, ripping out enough internals to send it into a system freeze. As the Command Wolf crashed to the ground, the Zaber Fang had already wheeled around, spitting four bolts of energy from its back-mounted cannons to rip through the Guysack's back. The tail went dead along with half the legs, leaving the barely functional zoid to drag itself forwards as the Zaber Fang turned its attention to the last command wolf.

"Th... that's not possible!" the republican choked in shock. "It was only one zoid – how? How did it beat us?" Too late, he tried to make a run for it – the Zaber Fang was on his hindquarters in an instant, hamstringing the back legs, before jumping over the zoid's crumpled form, kicking off the back with more force than was really needed for the jump. Leaving the crippled republican force behind it, the Zaber Fang took off at speed into the desert, in the direction of Raven's home village.

* * *

In the cockpit of the Zaber Fang, Raven sat back, not sure what to make of what had just happened. He'd piloted zoids before, but never one as advanced as a Zaber Fang, and definitely never in a combat situation. The speed with which he'd been able to dispatch three trained soldiers... that couldn't have been all his work.

Almost in response to his thought, the Zaber Fang suddenly came to a stop, cockpit opening as a bolt of light arced out of the zoid and earthed into the ground below Raven's vantage point. Spreading its wings, the dragon zoid took to the air, alighting on the nose of the Zaber. Folding its wings back up, it contemplated the boy in front of it. Raven did the same to the zoid, slightly less panicky than in the ruins.

"Okay" he said finally. "You didn't attack me when you came out of the pod, you helped me escape the Guysack, and then you helped me defeat the republican patrol. And now that we're clear of any danger, you still haven't attacked me." Raven gave a deep sigh, closing his eyes. "I suppose..." he said slowly. "...that you can come with me – [i]_for now_[/i]." He added emphatically. "But don't pull anything."

The zoid gave an amused, rasping growl. It _seemed_ friendly enough. Maybe it had just been... Raven sighed, closing his eyes again. The zoid gave a querelous purr.

"Nothing" he replied, looking up at the dark grey zoid.

"Shadow" he said finally. "I'll call you Shadow."

Shadow gave a nod of agreement, before fanning his wings out and rising up into the air, circling above the Zaber Fang as Raven started it up again, heading home. He hadn't worked out how he was going to explain either Shadow or the Zaber Fang... he'd think of something.

* * *

The sun was setting as the last, mangled frame of a Molga lost its residual energy and slumped into a heap of lifeless metal. A figure stood on a cliff top overlooking the smoking battefield, arms folded as he watched the last death throes of the zoids he'd dealt mortal, lingering blows to. The pilot inside the Molga was probably still alive – he'd deal with that when he went down on a final sweep. Right now it was time for a well-earned stretch; imperial cohorts were hardly a challenge, but you still got tired from the tedium of crushing Molga after Molga. There was a metallic clunking sound as the figure's companion came up behind him, saurian frame exuding aggression. An annoyed, low growl issued from close to the figure's ear.

"Don't worry buddy, we'll finish them off" he replied, placating the grumbling zoid. "I just like to leave them for a while first – let them build up some hope of survival so I can crush it." Behind him, the bone-white dinosaur gave an evil chuckle, blood-red eyes gleaming. And from behind its tail, a peal of soft, cruel laughter made its way forwards, revealing itself to belong to a blond-haired girl, slight of build, with eyes as red as the white dinosaur's.

"Oh, Van..." she purred in a voice like liquid silk, "you've got cruelty down to an artform." Van Flyheight cracked a wicked grin.

"Why thank-you, Fiona" he replied. Zeke the Organoid gave another evil chuckle, flexing his claws in anticipation.

"Yes, I think it's probably about time we went down and put those soldiers out of their misery." Van turned away from the cliff, making his way to the jet-black Shield Liger behind him. Zeke let out a savage roar as he activated his boosters and fused to the Liger, lowering the head for Van to climb into. "You want a front-row seat, or would you prefer to watch the whole thing from here?" Van asked Fiona as he strapped himself in.

"I'll stay here" she replied, sitting down with her legs dangling off the cliff. "I find the sunset relaxing." She looked off towards the west. "Red sky at night" she commented, observing the colour of the evening sky. "That means blood's been spilled somewhere." Van laughed as he closed the cockpit, powering the Shield Liger through the foliage and off the cliff, taking the short drop to the ground. Letting out a roar, the Liger began to lope at a leisurely pace through the carnage of the battlefield, back-mounted cannons swiveling to acquire their targets. Fiona watched Van play for a while, before leaning back and gazing up at the few stars that had begun to show themselves in the dusk. "Not long now..." she murmured to herself. "... and then it'll be red skies every night."


	2. The Journey Begins

**Zoids: Mirror Universe**

**Ep.2 – The Journey Begins**

"Right, now just _stay here._" Raven said sternly to Shadow, emphasizing his point with his finger. Shadow gave a resigned grumble, sitting down and curling up next to the Zabe Fang. Raven wasn't sure how long the black zoid would stay there, but he couldn't bring it with him into the village – people would flip out. Thank goodness the thick tree cover to the west of the village allowed him to obscure the Zaber Fang. Raven still hadn't worked out how he was going to explain that. Maybe he wouldn't have to... Raven shook his head as he made his way up the ridge to the start of the woods. Silly. There was no way he was going to be able to hide to it for any length of time. He'd have to make something up, obviously – people would accuse him of telling tall tales if he said the Zaber Fang had magically reanimated before his eyes. Besides, he'd like to avoid mentioning that he'd run foul of a Republican patrol.

* * *

"Idiots!"

The three republican soldiers winced as their commanding officer slammed his hand on the table. This was going to be unpleasant.

"The finest of the Republic... and you have your entire scout unit wiped out by some village yokel in a broken Zaber Fang?"

"Uh.. sir, that's not exactly what happened..."

"Oh, so I'm just imagining the slagged Guysack in the repair bay?" the officer snapped back. "And the two command wolves missing a throat and a back drive train? Those are just mild hallucinations brought on by sub-standard army rations last night?" The soldier who had spoken shifted uncomfortably.

"Sir?"

"What, Private Dorelo?"

"What Alvicus here was trying to say is that the Zaber Fang wasn't just broken – it was a wreck. It'd been stoned over for what must have been years before that kid got in it, and after that dragon zoid went into the thing, it was like it had just come off the production line."

"So now dead zoids walk the earth! I am most impressed, Private" the officer said in a voice that said he was anything but. "I do believe you now hold the record for the most outlandish excuse I have ever heard in my-"

"What was that you said?" The calmly curious voice had more stopping power than any impassioned yell. All four present in the room looked at the man who had just entered.

"Sir!" the officer said, formal and collected as he saluted. The newcomer acknowledged the salute, before leaning over the table.

"So then, Private" the man said, eyes pinning the scout unit. "what was that about a dragon zoid?"

"Uh... well, there was this dragon zoid that carried the boy out of the fortress, dropped him in the Zaber Fang and then... I dunno... _merged_ with it."

"And ressurected the Zaber Fang." the man finished.

"S-sir, you don't seriously _believe_ these incompetents do you?"

"I doubt they would have come up with a story this outlandish just to get out of trouble" he replied. "But if they're telling the truth, then there's only one explanation: an Organoid."

"Organoid?" the officer echoed. "But... they're just a legend, aren't they?"

"All legends start somewhere" the man replied. "True, a lot of the stories are probably embellishment, but they all agree on the same thing. Anyone in possesion of an Organoid has the ability to turn any Zoid into a potent fighting machine. This isn't something we can afford to pass up – I want this unit kitted out and sent to find that kid ASAP. And give them air support – Zaber Fangs are fast, but you can't fight your opponent if you can't reach him."

"Uh.. y-yes, Sir." the officer stammered in reply.

"Very good." the man said, straightening up. "I'll leave the logistics to you."

"Wait, I don't have the authority-"

"Just tell them you're acting on Captain Herman's orders." Captain Herman looked back at the officer and gave him a knowing smile. "That should smooth things out nicely."

"Y-yes, Sir."

* * *

"And WHERE have you been?" Raven jumped as Treana caught him red-handed trying to sneak back in without being noticed. "I've been worried _sick!_ Do you have any _idea_ how dangerous it is to go running off like that? Do you know what the army does to people that wander out too far?'

_Well now I do, _thought Raven. "Look, I'm fine, alright? I just went out wandering for a bit, that's all." Treana rolled her eyes, picking up the covered basket beside her.

"I've got to get these apples to the pastor" she said, walking over to the door. "I'll deal with _you_ later." Raven shook his head as Treana left. He should have known better than to try and get her to see sense. She was always fretting about the smallest thing. Raven climbing a tree? Call the fire brigade. Raven out after dark? Organize a search party. Raven under attack from Republicans?... assuming she recovered from the shock, there'd be snow in the desert before he was ungrounded again. This was gonna be hard... Raven left the house, vaugely thinking that he might go back to the Zaber Fang and think things over.

"Oh, hello Joyce."

"Raven" Raven said automatically as he turned to see who was talking. "Oh, hello Father."

"You haven't seen your sister, have you?" the pastor asked Raven.

"She just went out to give you some apples" Raven said, voice betraying his indifference.

"Got on her bad side, did we?"

"Not that it takes much effort" Raven muttered darkly, leaning against the wall. The pastor gave Raven a concerned glance.

"Look, even though Treana isn't your sister by blood..." Raven turned his head away, "...you're as much a brother to her as anyone can be. And you know how she gets about you wandering off on your own-"

Raven and the pastor both jerked their heads round as a high-pitched scream came from somewhere on the edge of the village.

"That sounded like Treana" Raven said, pulling himself off the wall. He and the pastor took off at top speed towards where the sound had come from.

* * *

The pastor came to a stop, aghast at the sight before him. "What on Zi...?"

"Get away from her!" Raven barked. Shadow looked over at him. Treana was pressed against the wall of a house amidst the scattered apples from the basket she'd dropped, eyes wide and chest heaving as she tried to slowly inch away from the black dragon a half-dozen feet in front of her.

"I said, get _away _fromher!" Raven repeated. Shadow tilted his head, giving a querelous growl before turning back to look at Raven's sister. He took a step closer, making Treana's knees give way and drop her to the ground. Raven gave a cry of alarm as Shadow stooped down towards Treana. Treana put up her hands and made a small, frightened noise – then looked up in surprise as Shadow straightened up again, holding an apple. He sniffed it curiously a few times, before tossing it into the air and snapping it up in one gulp. Treana gave a faint wiffle of relieved laughter, before she fainted dead away.

* * *

"Alright, so you found this...uh... Shadow, in some old ruins?" The group were back in Raven's house. Treana lay on the couch, wet facecloth on her forehead as she recovered. Shadow was curled up next to Raven's seat – he'd fit the part of a cat perfectly, if it wasn't for the fact that he took up half the floor. Raven nodded in response to the village elder's question. "He was in some kind of pod."

"And the Zaber Fang... you say it just came back to life?"

"Right in front of me." Raven folded his hands, resting his chin on them as he thought. "Quite frankly, I don't know what to make of it."

The elder looked at Shadow, stroking his moustache. "Interesting... you know, Joyce.."

"Raven."

"...I do believe that this Shadow might be an Organoid."

Raven took on a look of surprise, glancing down at Shadow, who had raised his head at the word "organoid.".

"You're serious?"

"I can't think of any other way to explain what happened. And if he is an organoid, then you might have just stumbled on the greatest discovery in recorded history."

Raven sat back, trying to digest that notion. His reverie was interrupted by his sister.

"Hang on" she said, sitting up straight. "Why did Shadow ressurect the Zaber Fang anyway?"

"Uh..." Raven had managed to get this far through the story without mentioning the Republic. He was stuck now though...

"Well, you see-"

A crash sounded from somewhere outside, and the floor shook. Everyone in the room was at their feet, scrambling to get outside in an instant. Once out of the house, another crash sent them stumbling, and a plume of dust exploded into the air from somewhere in the village.

"What's happening?" Raven yelled. A roar gave the answer; three desert-yellow command wolves were at the edge of the town, shelling the town with seemingly no pattern or reason. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the barrage stopped.

"Alright then," came the booming voice of one of the pilots, loudspeaker systems broadcasting his words all over the village. "We're after a black dragon zoid – we know you're hiding it, and the kid who found it. We want the zoid, the boy and the Zaber Fang he brought back with him. Otherwise, we start shelling your village again, and we won't stop until there's nothing left standing." He fired off another pair of shells to emphasize the point. "You've got ten minutes to bring him forward, after that, we start firing."

For a while, Raven and the other stood still in shock. Finally, Treana turned to Raven. "Oh you didn't." she said, shaking her head. "You did _not_ run into a Republican patrol. Tell me you didn't run into a Republican patrol."

"I would, but you don't like me lying to you" Raven replied. His sister threw her hands up in the air.

"Well _now_ what do we do?" she yelled, an edge of hysteria on the voice. "Either we send you to your death, or we let the village get destroyed! This is why I keep _telling_ you, _never_ leave the designated zone! It's not worth the-"

"Treana?" Raven intergected

"What?" Treana snapped, looking at him. Raven folded his arms as Shadow came up behind him.

"I defeated them once" Raven said calmly. "I can do it again. If Shadow's really an organoid, then me in my Zaber Fang will be more than enough to take out three command wolves."

"Wh- absolutely not!" Treana said, stamping her foot. "And besides, it's not even your Zaber Fang!"

"Well, since it _was_ an abandoned wreck, technically it is" the pastor interrupted. "And really, I can't think of an alternative. Both the options they gave us were unacceptable – I say we let Raven try it."

"But he'll be _killed!_" Treana pleaded. "He's just a kid-"

"He's also a kid who learned how to pilot the village's construction Godos when he was just six. He's easily the best pilot in the entire village, and as he said, he's done it before."

Treana looked helplessly between Raven and the pastor. Finally, Raven came up and gave Treana a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry Sis." he said. "I'll be fine. Shadow!"

The organoid spread his wings and gave them a flap, forcing everyone to shield their eyes as Raven broke away, running back towards the Zaber Fang's hiding place. Shadow built up height, before tucking his wings in and going into a swoop, snatching Raven up with his talons.

"Oy! I don't need to be carried, I can get-" Raven was cut off in mid-sentence as Shadow became a bolt of white light, arcing high into the air and then down behind the trees, plunging into the back of the Zaber Fang. Raven barely had time to react before he found himself in the cockpit.

"What the hell..." he felt to check he was still in one piece. He felt like he'd been stretched out into a piece of string and then snapped back into place, all before he'd had a chance to feel any pain. Shadow, meanwhile, had already activated the Zaber Fang, and had got as far as standing up before Raven took a firm grip of the controls.

"_I'll_ drive, thank-you." he growled. Shadow growled back (more out of petulance than anything else) before relinquishing control to Raven's console. "Now then, I'll show you what _I_ can do."

* * *

The soldiers had seen the flash as Shadow bolted to the Zaber Fang's location. They were already halfway through the village, weapons on a hair trigger as they smashed their way down the main street.

"Don't forget, this guy's dangerous" the squad leader warned as the strike team left the township and crested the ridge by the wood. "We should have the advantage, but I want you to treat him like he has a vulcan cannon on his back. Don't give him one second to get his bearings."

"Don't need to tell us twice" Dorelo muttered back. "This time, that brat's going _down_. I'd like to see him take care of our air support. Speaking of which..." Dorelo opened up to comm channel. "We're going after the Zaber Fang – back us up."

"Roger that, Dorelo" came a crackling voice over the radio. "Tango 1 incoming, weapons hot."

* * *

The Zaber Fang gave another petulant growl as Raven slinked up to the ridge, hunched down low to keep himself hidden as long as possible.

"I said I can handle it" Raven replied tersely. "It's not like I expect to be the best zoid pilot right off the bat, but I know what I'm doing. Get off my case, will you?" Shadow grumbled, but kept clear of the controls.

"Thank-you." Raven came to a stop, crouched down with cannons trained on the ridge ahead. "Now then, we just need to wait..."

As it turned out, they didn't; the Republican soldiers chose that moment to break over the ridge. Raven's response was intantaeneous – the beam cannons let loose a fullisade of laser fire, slamming into the chest of the first command wolf.

"Get him!" Dorelo called out as Raven turned tail and bolted, beam cannons rotating to lay down suppressive fire. "Open fire!"

"Come on..." Raven murmured, swerving the Zaber Fang left and right to dodge the cannon fire. "That's it, away from the village... perfect." Bringing the Zaber Fang to a stop, Raven wheeled round and began spraying fire at the Wolves, Impact Cannon letting loose a barrage of shells that cut the legs from under one of them. As the two remaining Command Wolves closed, Raven charged to meet them, beam cannons unrelenting.

"He's tearing us apart!" Alvicus called over the com "We need to pull back!"

"Not yet!" Dorelo replied. "Keep his attention, our air support's almost here..."

At that moment, a rattle of machinegun fire strafed across the sand, peppering the Zaber Fang's back, bringing it's charge to a stop. "That's more like it!" Dorelo cried in triumph as the Pteras swooped overhead. "Now, bring him down! I want that Zaber Fang in worse shape than when the kid found it!"

Raven flinched as the Command Wolves hammered the Zaber Fang, bringing it to its knees. "Dammit!" Raven swore, punching the side of the cockpit. He should have figured they'd have backup. Taking aim with the beam cannon, Raven sent a burst of fire after the Pteras that was circling back for another strafing run. The shot missed their mark by several yards, and the Pteras came back again, pinging the cockpit with a few stray shots as it aimed for the control conduit. Shadow gave an urgent growl.

"For the last time!" Raven shouted, taking aim with the beam cannons. "I don't need your-"

His aim must have been even more off than he thought – the controls were almost wrenched out of his hand as Shadow corrected the aim. The beams lanced through the air, slamming into the Pteras' left magnessor.

"Wha?- That's impossible!" the pilot said in disbelief, barely believing it as the Pteras went into a crash dive. "How did he hit me? There's no way he could- arrggh, system eject!" The canopy blew off, and the pilot ejected, parachute deploying as the Pteras slammed into the desert sand. The Command Wolves wavered, morale wounded by the loss of their support.

"How did he do that?" Alvicus asked, panic-striken. "There's no way the beam cannons could be that accurate! No way! How can a kid be this good?"

"Captain Herman was right" Dorelo said, more to himself than his wingman. "It must be an organoid." The Zaber Fang threw its head back, giving a roar of triumph, before hulking down and training the beam cannons right at Dorelo's Command Wolf. He took the hint. "Fall back!" he called. "This guy's out of our league."

"But Dorelo, the Sergeant will-"

"Have our hides, I know, but I'd rather face him than this kid. Fall back!"

The Command Wolves turned tail and fled, rapidly receding into to the distance. For a while, Raven stayed still. Finally, he addressed his invisible companion.

"...that was you correcting the aiming, right?" Shadow gave an affirmative growl. "So... you _are_ an organoid then?" Another affirmative. Raven stayed silent for a while. As much as he disliked the idea of fighting with someone else's strength, there was no denying that Shadow had probably saved the day; that Pteras would have been next to impossible to hit with the beam cannons otherwise. And this made the third time he'd saved Raven's life. Raven hated to admit when his first impressions were wrong, but it seemed that Shadow was looking out for him. "Fine" Raven said eventually, putting his hands up in defeat. "We work together now. Happy?" Shadow growled a yes. "Right... now then, let's see to that Pteras pilot..." Raven paced the Zaber Fang up to the downed Pteras, leisurely keeping pace with the pilot as he tried to extricate himself from the parachute. He managed to get untangled and run a good seven yards before the Zaber Fang's paw came down in front of him. "That's far enough" Raven's voice came from the cockpit loudspeakers as he lowered the head down, raising the canopy to talk to the man directly. "Can you talk to your commander?"

"Uh... well, er..."

"Yes or no."

"Uh.. yes?"

"Good" Raven put his foot up on the edge of the cockpit, resting his arm on his knee. "I want you to deliver a message to him..."

* * *

"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!" The Sergeant was almost having an apoplectic fit. "Not only do you fail to stop this kid, despite having a full squad of Command Wolves, but you turn tail when your forces are only half gone! You're a disgrace to the regiment!"

"I don't care if it makes me a national traitor, I am _not_ going up against that kid again, no matter how many zoids you put at my back!"

"Why you insolent-"

"Sir?"came the voice of a radio operator.

"WHAT!" The radio operator flinched.

"Sir, we've just retrieved the Pteras pilot and the third member of the squad. The Ptears pilot had a message to relay – said it was from the kid."

"Oh?" Captain Herman sat up from his reclined position at the back of the room, taking interest. "What did he say?"

"He said..." the radio operator looked down at his portable console. "Tell your boss that I'm not interested in fighting the army, but if you send someone to blow up my village again, then so help me I'll hunt you down and... uh..."

"Yes?"

"I think you'd better read that bit yourself."

Captain Herman took the console and perused the rest of the message. His eyebrows rose and the corner of his mouth twitched. "Got a colourful vocabluary, this kid." He handed the console back to the operator. "Didn't know it was physically possible to do that with a beam cannon."

"Right, well..." the operator gave an awkward cough. "if that's all, I'll be heading off..."

* * *

"Look, are you sure about this Raven?" the pastor asked as Raven finished packing his things.

"I'm sure" Raven replied. "The Republic's after me now – staying here won't keep me safe, and it'll only put the rest of you in danger."

"But where will you go?" Treana asked.

"Dunno" Raven replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Try and find somewhere to lie low, I guess. Maybe try to sneak over into the empire."

"The empire?" Treana's voice became high as her stress levels soared. "But they're tyrants! Ruthless!"

"Is the Republic really that different?" Rave replied. "Besides, at least they're not after me specifically. Heck, they don't even know I exist yet."

"Yet?"

"Oh, they'll probably find out eventually – the secret police can't catch all the spies."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Treana asked in complete bafflement. "You're acting like this is no big deal!" Raven looked at Treana.

"You of all people should know why I don't panic easily." He said quietly. Treana aquiesced, giving a subdued nod.

"Besides" Raven said, turning back to the rest of the group. "Shadow here is too dangerous to be captured. The Republic's already tearing into the Empire – Shadow would be a one-zoid army all on his own. It think it's best I stay on the move and keep him away from the army."

The pastor nodded sagely, hands clasped in front on him. "You're a lot more mature than you look, Raven" he said. "You'll make a good zoid pilot."

"Thanks" Raven said, a little awkward with praise this direct. He was more used to the occasional reminder that he should be a little less of a loner and make friends. "Well, I'd better be going – the Republic will probably be here soon. I need to be long gone before they arrive."

* * *

"I'm gonna give you two choices" Van said, his foot on the imperial soldier's chest. "Either you can tell me when the next shipment of ammo is coming through to the Imperial Garrison outside Red River, after which I'll kill you nice and quickly with a bullet to the head." He twirled his pistol to emphasize the point, "or, you can keep your mouth shut, and I'll let Zeke have you."

The imperial soldier looked wild-eyed to his side, where, Zeke stood hunched over, his blood-red eyes fixed on the man with a disturbingly _hungry_ look.

"He... zoids don't eat organic food." The imperial soldier said, more out of hope than conviction.

"True" Van replied. "But then Zeke's not exactly a typical zoid. Besides, he enjoys that sort of thing. The sensation of soft meat being ground to a pulp between his teeth or something."

"Actually" Fiona remarked, from where she sat on a nearby rock, "it's because inanimate objects are boring to eat." The imperial soldier's already ashen complexion went a shade closer to old porridge. "I... a fortnight" he blurted. "There's going to be a shipment coming through in a fortnight, mostly cannon shells with some repair tools for the unit's beam weapons."

"Why thank-you" Van said, smiling mercilessly. "See, its amazing the ground you can cover when there's a mutual understading between-" he stopped his soliloquiy as the comm by his belt buzzed an alert. Taking it out and perusing it, he stepped off the soldier, looking interested.

"What is it, Van?" Fiona asked one leg idly swinging back and forth.

"Message from headquarters." Van replied, pocketing the comm again and turning towards the Jet-black Shield Liger. "Gramps says he's got a new assignment he thinks will interest us."

"Sounds fascinating" Fiona remarked, before looking back at Zeke, who was now advancing on the soldier, chuckling evilly and sliding his claws against each other, creating a sound like knives being sharpened.

"H-hoy!" he called, voiced choking with fear. "What about your deal? You said-"

"I know what I said," Van replied, not looking back. "But this is one of Zeke's favourite parts of the job. And I couldn't just deny him that after all the buildup – it would be cruel." Van continued to the Shield Liger as Zeke gave a savage roar, puncuated by a scream of terror. It was quickly replaced with screams of agony, together with a series of horrible, wet, squelching sounds, that continued long after the screams had died away. Fiona sat on the rock, watching with a vague smile. Finally, she got up and came over, bending down to pick up the shredded, bloodied imperial coat.

"Oh look, now you've gone and made a mess of yourself again." she crooned tenderly, using the rag to wipe away the dark red stains around Zeke's jaws. Zeke gave a low metallic purring sound, lowering his head as Fiona lightly stroked her fingers up from the organoid's neck and along the underside of his chin. Gently wrapping her fingers around the end of the dinosaur's jaw, she brought the other up to gently caress the side of his head.

"Such a shame..." Fiona said, sadly. "Once this is over, there won't be any imperial soldiers left." Zeke made a disappointed noise. Fiona gave a mock pout. "Oh, I know, it's not fair... but that's how it is sometimes. You need to put down the cupcake if you want to pick up the chocolate gateau."

"Oy, Fiona!" Van called from the cockpit. "Quit seducing the organoid and get up here, we need to get back to base!"

Zeke growled quietly, flexing his claws and lashing his tail. Fiona stilled him with a splayed hand in front of his nose.

"All in good time" Fiona said placatingly. "All in good time." Then, in a louder, lighter voice, "Coming, Van." She made her way liesurely to the cockpit as Zeke deployed his boosters, letting out a savage roar as he launched into the air and dived into the Shield Liger. The roar transferred to the larger zoid, and as Fiona clambered into the rear seat, Van Flyheight opened up the throttle, bringing the Shield Liger to full speed as the cockpit closed, orange glass blending in with the sunset.


	3. The Blue Angel

**Zoids: Mirror Universe**

**Ep.3 – The Blue Angel**

The Godos pressed against the cliff face, leaning round quizzically to look down the canyon.

"Any sign of it?" the pilot in the second Godos asked.

"Nothing" the first Godos pilot replied. "But the canyon pinches in just after the entrance, so I can't see much."

"Dammit" the second pilot swore. "You sure it was a Zaber Fang?"

"Those fangs are hard to miss"

"Yeah, I guess..." the second Godos pilot replied, turning his zoid around.

"Hey wait, where are you going?"

"Well you weren't thinking of taking the thing on with two Godos, were you?"

"Uh..."

"Please. Mooks like us wouldn't stand a chance against an imperial special ops."

"What makes you think he's special ops?"

"Can't think of any other reason a lone Zaber Fang would be this deep in Republic territory. Maybe if we just carry on like we don't know what it was, he'll let us go in one piece."

"What, so we don't report him?"

"Well of course we report him – we just make sure he's not coming after us first."

"Uh, if you say so..."

* * *

Raven let his breath out as the Godos patrol ambled away. This was getting ridiculous. He could barely run for half a day with having to dive for cover from some patrol or other...

Shadow gave a growl from inside the Zaber Fang.

"Yes, yes, alright, I know we need to get moving" Raven replied. Shadow had proven his worth in hiding them a number of times before Raven even realised the sensor had picked up an enemy. But still... he couldn't quite bring himself to trust the dragon completely. It just seemed too... convenient. Why was he travelling with Raven in the first place? What did he get out of it?

Shadow gave another reminding growl and twitched the Zaber Fang's foot. He'd learned not to take full control of the zoid outside of an emergency; Raven didn't take kindly to it. To be honest he wasn't too happy with Shadow spending most of his time bonded to the Zaber Fang, but until he got fully used to the Zaber Fang's controls, he really needed Shadow for when fast reactions were crucial.

"Yeah, moving" Raven replied, pacing out from his hiding place in one of the alcoves along the canyon wall. He wasn't sure exactly where he was meant to be going, but Shadow did seem to be steering him in a certain direction. And he had to keep moving anyway. Leaving the canyon, Raven leaned forward on the controls, the Zaber Fang moving into its distinctive bounding gait as it continued on to its mystery destination.

* * *

The sun had already set, and the last drabs of light were leaving the sky above the desert. Beneath the sand, a sleeper trap lay, dormant, waiting for prey. What it got was a predator.

Even as the sleeper computers activated and the Guysacks clambered out of the ground, they were being shot down, well-placed cannon shots smashing the cockpits, slagging the drive trains, blasting the legs clear. The lone attacker didn't waste a single second; the cannons swiveled, firing as soon as they were lined up and then swept back to aim for the next target. The last Gustav managed to get a single shot of beam fire off before the Command Wolf sent it flying with a cannon shell to the head. The pilot glanced at the scorch mark where the beam had hit the shoulder of his zoid.

"Damn" he said in a laid back tone. "Almost a perfect run." Running his hand through his spiky, brown-blond hair, he leaned over to the comm. "You catch that?"

"Every second" the reply came back. "We'll have the other half of your payment waiting for you when you get back. Good work, mercenary."

"Why do you guys never use personal names when you're dealing with mercenaries?" the pilot asked conversationally as he adjusted his three-lens eyepatch.

"Not professional" the imperial soldier at the other end replied tersely.

"Riiight. See you in a few days then." Irvine flicked off the comm and started to pace the Command Wolf out of the field of wrecked zoids. These imperials must have been really desperate – they never would have used mercenaries during the rebellion. The Republic wasn't just fighting for survival now: they stood a very good chance of wiping the empire out. What was stopping Emperor Rudolph II from sending out the full strength of the imperial army? At this rate he'd be out of a job before next year...

Irvine's attention was caught by a faint blip on the edge of his scanner. A zoid was moving across his path, towards the northwest. And it wasn't a republican zoid. Curious. Well, the imperial army wasn't expecting to see him for a few days anyway – might as well take the time to tail the guy. There could be money in it, after all.

* * *

Irvine crawled his way up to the cliff face, peering down at the faint speck of light on the canyon floor. Looks like closing the distance at night had been a smart move. Why did everyone drop their gaurd when they weren't on the move? Lying prone at the cliff edge, Irvine brought his hand up to his eyepatch, zooming in a few levels. "Huh" he remarked as he saw his quarry for the first time. "Guy's just a kid. How did he get hold of a Zaber Fang?" He must have been with someone. Irvine looked around the campsite for another pilot. At first, there was nothing; then a figure moved at the base of the Zaber Fang's legs, walking out towards the light. The fire glinted off the shadow-grey steel, a reflection rippling along the Organoid's tail as it flexed.

"Holy-" Irvine fumbled his eyepatch in his surprise, accidentally flicking it back a setting. Hurriedly getting it back to the correct zoom level, Irvine looked again. There was no mistake – there was a small, dragon-type zoid with the kid. And it could only be an organoid. There was no way that kid could have piloted that Zaber Fang. After all these years of searching ruins in his off-months, here was an organoid less than half a mile away. There was no way this kid could stop him. And once he was out of the way, the organoid would be Irvine's. But now was not the time to strike. He was too close to his zoid. Irvine was a skilled pilot, but he hadn't got that skill by picking fights with opponents he didn't know the strength of. Organoids were a mystery to all, and if the legends were even half true, Irvine's Command Wolf would be completely outclassed. No, he had to wait until this kid got separated from his zoid. Until then, he would wait.

* * *

Raven brought the Zaber Fang to a stop in front of the canyon. It was a very narrow trail – barely wide enough for the Republic's large-scale zoids to make their way through. And yet they must have gone through – now that he was directly in front of the chasm, he could see the bright flare of light coming off the republican base at the end of the passage. The white stone was all but obscured by the dense, green vegetation that blanketed the main structure. Only the observation tower was properly visible. It obviously hadn't been occupied for several decades.

"..So, you want me to go in there?" Raven asked. Shadow growled an affirmation. Raven shrugged. He still had no idea what Shadow was up to. Possibly heading somewhere they could hide and wait out the search parties? In any case, Raven himself had no for how to proceed from here – he hadn't even set foot outside his village since he was six. If you thought about it, he was really at Shadow's mercy here. It wasn't a thought that he liked.

Shadow twitched the Zaber Fang's foot, giving an impatient growl. "Alright, alright" Raven replied hotly, taking the controls. Muttering darkly to himself, he steered the Zaber Fang down the canyon. The republic base slowly came into full view. The large open expanse where zoids would no doubt have been housed has tangled an overgrown around the edges, creating what looked more like a natural clearing than an artificially smoothed staging ground. The entrance to the base itself was blocked by the vegetation – he'd have to walk the last half-dozen yards. Bringing the Zaber Fang up to a lope, he began to cross the clearing.

A double salvo of beam fire slammed into the ground in front of Raven. He jerked back on the controls, the Zaber Fang rearing up on its hind legs and staggering a few steps backwards. He didn't have time to regain his senses before the attacker was on him. A great, white shape, twice the size of the Zaber Fang, burst out of the foliage on his right, charging at him with a roar. Shadow jinked the Zaber Fang round and took off, getting into the canyon before Raven grabbed the controls and steered them round. If this thing was going to fight him, he'd much rather do it in an enclosed space where the thing could barely move. Only, it wasn't fighting him. The zoid came to a stop at the entrance to the canyon, giving an angry roar, but staying at the entrance. It was a Gordos – one of the great artillery zoids of the Helic Republic. Few things chilled Imperial soldiers more than a phalanx of Gordos lumbering into view on the horizon. The republic wasn't known for extensive use of beam weaponry; that was the empire's purview. But certain zoids had been refitted with stolen imperial technology, the Republic knowing that only fools ignore tactical advantages that are "beneath" them. This Gordos seemed to be a benefactor of such an modification. A valuable zoid indeed. So why was it in an abandoned Republic base?...

...And why did it have no pilot? Raven had just realised that the zoid's cockpit was empty. It was a wild zoid. So why was it defending a Republic base?

Raven stood there for a while, unwilling to break the stalemate. After a few minutes, he tentatively took a step forwards in the Zaber Fang. The Gordos roared, stamping its feet and making Raven back away. Once he had, it stopped. Eventually, deciding he wasn't going to get anywhere, he turned the zoid around and started to leave, keeping an eye on the Gordos behind him. It didn't try anything, and as he lost sight of the clearing, he saw the Gordos start turning to leave. About the same time, Shadow froze the Zaber Fang in place. Raven tugged at the controls once or twice before banging his fist against the console in annoyance.

"Stop _doing_ that!" he growled, folding his arms and leaning back to glower at the console. Shadow gave an apologetic growl in response, before lowering the Zaber Fang to the ground and opening the cockpit. He left the Zaber Fang as Raven clambered out onto the ground, landing beside the human and folding up his wings. "So now what?"

Shadow didn't reply. Instead, he began walking back along the canyon towards the base.

"Hey, wait up!" Raven piped, getting a little panicky. "There's a mad Gordos back that way!" Shadow stopped to look over his shoulder and give Raven a diffident growl, before continuing on. "Hey, wait up! Wait!" He ran after the organoid, catching up as it rounded the last outcrop of rock. Here, Raven saw what he'd missed while in the Zaber Fang – a low trench that ran along the side of the base, disappearing into a tunnel that led towards the base. It looked like the remains of a water runoff, or something.

"So we're travelling by sewer now? He asked, raising an eyebrow. He jumped when he heard the low growl of the Gordos coming closer. "Sewer it is, then." He said hurriedly, clambering into the ditch and walking briskly to the tunnel.

* * *

It had proven quite easy to get into the base; the tunnel had led to the base of a well, which in turn was only a hundred feet or so from the entrance. Now that they were inside, Shadow seemed to be looking for something. He stalked the corridors, pushing his nose through the old, rusty doors (those that hadn't fallen off their hinges), giving the room a quick once-over, before turning and going to the next room. Raven followed, at something of a loose end. He had no idea what Shadow was up to, and he wasn't about to go wandering and risk loosing him in the catacombs – he wasn't sure Shadow would bother to find him, for a start. He still couldn't shake the feeling that Shadow didn't really have any interest in him, and he was nothing more than a tag-along to whatever Shadow wanted to do. It was an uncomfortable idea, but one he didn't have an answer to.

After searching through a number of sections, Shadow and Raven came into a large room that seemed to be the quarters of the base commander; strategic maps were bolted to the wall, their details obscured under a thick layer of dust and grime, while a desk at the far end was littered with papers and office equipment. Going over to the table, Raven looked at the paraphernalia. His eye was caught straight away by a photo frame on the desk. Picking it up, Raven, wiped the dust off it to get a closer look. It was the Gordos from outside, with two figures posed in front of its nose; presumably the commander and his fiance. So it had been a military zoid; why was it left here?

Putting the photo down, Raven turned to look at the far corner, where the commander's bed and wardrobe stood, hidden from the door by a screen. The door stood ajar, revealing rows of clothing, preserved against the elements in plastic wrap, as if they'd been brought back from the cleaners and then abandoned in a hurry. The bed itself was in a much worse state, and would clearly never support anyone's weight again. But that wasn't what caught Raven's attention. On the bed was a small, red leather-bound book, a journal or diary of some kind. Picking it up, Raven delicately opened the fragile pages, hoping to find some clue as to why the base had been abandoned. He found it, on the last written enty.

_We're moving out today – the Imperials are in full retreat, and they need everyone up at the front to press the attack. Couldn't have come at a worse time, too – my Gordos still hasn't had his bung leg repaired. We're gonna have to leave it here. Might come back to pick it up later – then again, I was due to get an improved version in a month anyway, so it'll probably be less effort to just leave it here. Not like those imperials ever even consider using captured Republic zoids, the pompous idiots._

So he'd been abandoned here, cast off and forgotten. He must still be waiting for his master to come back. It was a little sad.

"So what are we here for?" Raven asked Shadow. There was no reply. "Shadow?" Raven asked, turning around. There was no sign of the organoid, but a door had appeared in the wall, with a staircase leading down. "Oy, wait for me!" Raven called, tossing the journal aside as he ran after his organoid.

* * *

At the bottom of the stairs, Raven was met with a strange sight. The cold grey of the republic base was replaced with a warm, earthy sandstone. The staircase had been in darkness for the last half-dozen turns, but now there was a low, yellow glow from halogen lamps dotted around the chamber. Shadow was just turning on the last one, the spotlight sputtering into life after years of disuse. "What is this place?" Raven wondered out loud, looking around the cavern. It was a natural cave, carved out into an artificial vault. Half of the floor was bare, save for the littered remnants of some archaeological investigation. The other half was dominated by a thick stone column that ran the full height of the cave. Spaced along the outside in regular intevals was some kind of ancient script. The angular, ornate sigils wrapped round the pillar, the edges strangely sharp for something that was clearly very old.

"I've never seen words like these" Raven mused as he came closer. "A history? Or maybe some kind of message?..." he went to take another step, then paused as Shadow paced ahead, approaching the inscribed column and looking up its length. Raven finished closing the distance and stood next to his partner. "Any idea what they are?" Raven asked Shadow, placing his hand against the cold stone. Shadow made no response. For a while, he simply stood there, gazing up at the column. Finally, he lowered his head to look at the inscriptions. Glancing sideways at Raven, he raised both foreclaws and pressed them against the stone.

Raven jumped back as the strange symbols leapt to life, the carved surface filling with coruscating light. A low grinding sound rolled around the chamber, and the column began to rotate, sinking into the floor as it did. Raven looked up as the top came into view – and gasped. There, atop the pillar, were a pair of pods, identical to the ones where Shadow had been. Only this time, both were intact. The pillar finished sinking into the floor with a dull boom. While the echoes were still dying away, Shadow stepped forwards. Raven extended a hand.

"W-wait" he said helplessly. "What if-"

Shadow pressed his claws against the console on the side of the first pod. Both vessels pulsed bright green, and Raven stepped back, shielding his face with his arms as the pods cracked, and then fell apart with a gush of steam. Peering through the mist, Raven saw Shadow standing next to – Raven blinked. For a moment he'd thought he was seeing double. Now he saw that Shadow was next to another dragon-like zoid, much like himself, only taller, thinner, with a pair of horns that protruded from the cheeks and ran parallel to the jawline, the skin glistening a metallic blue. Shadow looked back at Raven, tilting his head in a beckoning gesture. "You sure?" Raven asked, stepping forward hesitantly. "I mean, sure, you must be pleased to meet another organoid, but are you sure he's safe?"

"_He?_" came a voice behind Raven, making him yelp in surprise and spin round. "Specula is a _she_, thank-you very much."

"Oh" Raven replied looking at the blue-haired girl in front of him. "H-hello, uh.. you must have been in the other pod, right?"

"Guess so" she replied, never once shifting her aquamarine eyes from Raven's. "My name's Reese, by the way."

"Uh... hi, Reese" Raven replied awkwardly. She had a very disarming smile, as well as a very beautiful face. And...

"What?" Reese asked as Raven glanced down and quickly turned his head sideways, flushing bright red. "What is it? Have I got food on my clothes or something?" Raven gave an embarrassed cough. Reese glanced down at herself. "Ah" she observed, cheery attitude not even skipping a beat. "I see." Looking back up at Raven (who was rapidly getting very hot under the collar), she smiled sweetly. "Don't suppose you know where the nearest wardrobe is, do you?"

* * *

"Look, I said don't worry about it; wasn't like you knew beforehand." Reese said as she shrugged the jacket into place, fluffing up the sleeves. A quick rummaging of the wardrobe where they'd found the diary had turned up the blue petticoat, waistcoat and leggings that Reese now wore; along with every other item of clothing on her person.

"Well, it's just..." Raven began, arms folded as he tried to be gentlemanly about it. "It's just a little... um... _odd_ having a grown... lady be so collected about the whole... you know..."

"You know what's _really_ odd?" Reese asked, flashing a wry smile. "Why did this commander have lady's clothing in his wardrobe? Including a silk bra and panties?"

_"...didn't really need to know they were silk..."_ Raven mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. "Er... *ahem* Anyway, now that you're decent, do you know a secret way out of this place?"

"Secret way?" Reese echoed. "Can't we just take the front door?"

"Well, we would be able to, except-"

A dull boom rolled from outside, and the dust on the ceilings shook as the fort shivered from the impact of something.

"What was that?" Reese asked as she and Raven regained their balance. Another boom came from outside, closer, louder and stronger, causing the items on the desk to fall off. "Time to go" Raven said, grabbing Reese's wrist and dragging her after him.

* * *

"Booyah!" Irvine let off another RPG, blowing a chunk out of the main watch tower. The manic glint in his eyes would have chilled anyone watching him – here was a man who took an unholy glee in wanton destruction. Not that it wasn't obvious anyway. "Yeah, that's it!" Irvine crowed as Shadow fled into the open, followed by Raven. "Come out where I can see- _sweet mother of_-" Irvine was cut off in mid-sentence as the RPG's recoil knocked him to his feet, the sudden shock having completely thrown off his aim. The grenade sailed across the canyon, impacting against the opposite wall in a shower of rubble. Irvine was already adjusting his eyepatch to make sure he'd seen right. Yep, there was no doubt about it; there were **two** organoids down there; Shadow, then Raven dragging some girl along, and then a long, blue organoid. Irvine grinned in excitement. This was too good to be true! Years searching for organoids, and then two appeared within 24 hours of each other. Oh, he was gonna be _rolling_ in it when this was over...

"Alright then," he said, squeezing off one last RPG round at the base, "time to get up close and personal." Slinging the launcher over his back, Irvine uncoiled his rope, fastening one end to a jagged outcrop. Flicking his comm open, he abseiled down the cliff face, sending the activation code to his waiting command wolf. The zoid lifted itself to its feet as Irvine landed in the open cockpit, pulling the control stick into place. "Alright, kid" he said to himself as the command wolf broke out of the undergrowth. "Let's dance..."

* * *

"What's going on?" Reese asked Raven as they dashed out of the building, in a tone of voice that would have been more appropriate for asking the time of day.

"Hell if I know" Raven shouted back as he ran for the well. "This day's just been one piece of bad luck after another. I get chased by a Gordos, I get some mercenary between me and my way out and now _this!_"

"You sure live an interesting life" Reese commented as they came to a stop by the well. "Sounds like fun"

"Are you kidding?" Raven replied. "I've been thrown in the deep end here – alright I'm good behind the controls of a zoid, but it's not like I want to fight every single pilot out-"

"Oh, you're a zoid pilot?"

"Well-" Raven had been caught off guard by the question. "er, yes I am..."

Reese's next question was cut short as a blast of cannon fire hit the well, sending the humans and organoids sprawling. Raven looked up through the debris to see Irvine's command wolf looming over them, looking every bit as vicious as its pilot.

"Alright mate" came Irvine's voice over the Wolf's speaker system. "I'm gonna tell you one time only." The cockpit rose and Irvine stepped out, RPG aimed at the group. "Hand over the organoids. Both of them."

Raven swore under his breath. This was bad. Their escape route was cut off, and Irvine's expression said he wouldn't hesistate to turn both Raven and Reese into a smear on the ground... maybe they could bluff their way out...

"You do realise there's a wild Gordos living here?" Raven asked nonchalantly. "Nearly took my Zaber Fang's beam cannons off."

"You mean the white Gordos I just fought? And stoved its head in?" Irvine asked, grinning at Raven's defeated expression. "Yeah, I thought you meant that one. So then, which will it be?"

"I..." Raven began, utterly at a loss for how to proceed. They stood for a while in a standoff. Then, Shadow unfurled his wings and took off, skimming underneath the Command Wolf and out of sight.

"Shadow!" Raven called after him, not believing what he was seeing. Shadow was abandoning him? Now? So it _had_ been nothing more than a friendship of convenience?

"Damn!" Irvine cursed as the black organoid escaped. "He might have escaped, but you won't." He aimed the RPG at Specula. "A damaged organoid's better than none at all."

"No, don't!" Reese cried, scared for the first time since Raven had met her. "Don't hurt her!"

"Oh, isn't that sweet" Irvine said in mock sympathy. "But I'm not a gentleman – being a girl won't save you." Irvine looked down through the sights and began to squeeze the trigger...

A blast hit the side of his Command Wolf, throwing him off balance and making him drop the RPG over the edge of the cockpit. "Where the hell did that come from?" he yelled as he scrambled back into the cockpit, pulling the Wolf around. What he saw made his blood freeze. "No, it can't be... I sent you to the scrapheap!" The white Gordos roared its defiance and fired another fullisade from its beam cannons. Raven could see that Irvine had really done a number on it; the armor was cracked and blasted, the knee joints were stalling on every second step, and its face had indeed been stoved in; the right side of the cockpit was completely smashed, the console sparking like an electric wound. But even so, it was charging forwards at a speed no Gordos should be able to reach. Irvine barely managed to get clear of the vicious headbutt it directed at him.

"How it is still moving?" Raven wondered out loud.

"Isn't it obvious?" Reese asked, hands clasped behind her back. "Your organoid bonded with it. He didn't have time to repair it properly, so he just concentrated on the internals."

"Wh- uh, he's not _my_ organoid." Raven replied. "I just found him and he's tagged along since then."

"Wait, you _found_ him?" Reese asked, suddenly surprised. "But... wasn't he with someone?"

"No, he was in a pod." Reese looked like she was about to ask another question, but bit her lip, seemingly deciding against it. Looking back at the two fighting zoids, she smiled. "Well anyway, _your_ organoid handles himself very well in a fight." And he was. Irvine was a skilled pilot, and was handling the Wolf like a professional, but the Gordos was moving like a zoid half its weight, keeping pressure on the mercenary with the beam cannons.

"DIE, damn you!" Irvine yelled at the Gordos as he levelled the cannons straight at the cockpit. The Wolf let off a double-salvo, hitting the Gordos square on the head. Even through the smoke, Raven could see the white bulk of the Gordos falling to the ground. And when the smoke cleared, it revealed that the head of the dinosaur was now completely obliterated, blasted down to a burnt, mangled stump.

"Oh" Reese said quietly, delicate fingers over her mouth in worry. "The poor thing."

"And _stay_ down this time!" Irvine shouted over the comm. Turning back to the two humans he'd forgotten, he trained the cannons on them. "Right, I've had enough of you two" he said, lining up his sights. "Was gonna kill you anyway, may as well do it now"

"Run!" Raven said desperately, grabbing Reese's hand in a futile attempt to reach cover. A dull explosion of cannon fire sounded before they were even halfway there – and yet they weren't dead. Irvine turned his head slowly to the left, not even seeing the smoking hole in his Wolf's flank.

"No... no way..." he said faintly as the headless Gordos pushed itself back to its feet, lining itself up with Irvine's Command Wolf. "This can't be happening..." For a few seconds, the Gordos stood there. Then, a bolt of white light arced out of the Gordos' back, leaving it to slump lifeless to the ground, before diving down and plunging straight through Irvine's Command Wolf, downing it like a spear through the heart. Irvine fell from the cockpit as it smashed on the ground, tumbling over and hitting the ground at a painful-looking angle. He didn't get up.

"Is he dead?" Reese asked Raven.

"Dunno." Raven replied, cautiously advancing on him. Slipping a hand to Irvine's temple he checked for a pulse. "Yeah, he's alive – just unconscious. Let's get out of here while we can." He turned to leave for the canyon entrance, but was stopped by a metallic claw on his shoulder. It was Shadow.

"What is it?" Raven asked. "What do you want us to wait for?" Shadow gave no response, but instead took to the air with a flap of his wings, bolting into the great hulk of the fallen Gordos. A wind kicked up, swirling around the Gordos for a few seconds, before disappearing again. A white light bolted out of the Gordos and landed next to Raven. "You okay?" he asked in surprise, as Shadow swayed once or twice and dropped to a sitting position.

"He's exhausted" Reese replied. "He's just fought solo in a large-scale zoid, stayed conscious after said Zoid went into a system freeze, and jump-started its self-repair process enough for the thing to survive. Most organoids don't have the stamina to do that."

"Hang on a second." Raven said, frowning "How do you know so much about organoids?"

"I do?" Reese echoed. "Huh, I always thought I was average..."

"Average? Organoids are a myth, no-one even knows if they're real..."

"Us two know they're real, we've got some."

"...well, alright, but the point is that there's no information on them, so how do you know this stuff?"

"Well," Reese replied, hands clasped behind her back as she paced past Raven. "Obvoiusly there must be some information about organoids floating around, or I wouldn't know it, would I?"

"Yeah, but still doesn't-"

Reese slid her hands over Raven's shoulders, linking them up in front of him. "And remember you did find me in a pod next to an organoid – maybe that has something to do with it?"

"You mean, you don't know what you were doing in there?"

"Well no, I was asleep, obviously."

Raven sighed. "I give up. So then, what now? You have somewhere to go?"

"Where are you going?"

"Next village over, I guess."

"I'll come along with you then."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "You're a direct sort of person, aren't you?"

"That's me" Reese replied, beaming from ear to ear. "So, you gonna show me your zoid, or what?..."

* * *

"This is a nice zoid."

"Uh-huh" Raven replied nervously. The zaber fang was not designed to carry two people, and Reese was pressed up against Raven's back. It was quite distracting.

"So, we heading off, or are we gonna stand here all day?"

Raven took the controls and started to steer the Zaber Fang away from the canyon. Shadow didn't seem to have a specific destination in mind now – seems this whole trip had been about reviving this strange girl and her organoid. And that set Raven to wondering; if there were two organoids just lying around, what was to stop their being three? Or more? Not that he hadn't known that already... and he knew there was absolutely nothing to stop those organoids being vicious killers. The thought of such a creature at the controls of a zoid sent a shiver up his spine.

"You cold?" Reese asked.

"Y-yeah," Raven lied, not wanting to sound silly by voicing his fears. Right now, he should concentrate on getting to the next village over, stocking up and deciding what to do.

The Zaber Fang continued its loping run to the west, a silhouette against the sky.


	4. Infiltration

_Augh, this took forever to finish. And I'm still not completely happy with it – the pacing just seems too forced. On the plus side, I'm finishing up at Uni for the year (Don't slack off in your studies people! There's nothing worse than failing something you could have passed _:( _), so I'll have more time to devote to both this and the various picture and story ideas I've had floating around in my head for the last couple of months..._

**Zoids: Mirror Universe**

**Ep.4 - Infiltration**

Raven brought the Zaber Fang to a stop outside the village. The small collection of buildings were set close to the base of the mountain range that continued on to split the desert in half. "Aren't we getting closer first?" Reese asked from behind Raven's ear.

"Better not" Raven replied. "People tend to get a little nervous if you bring an imperial zoid into a republic village, especially this close to the border." _And I don't know how much longer I can cope with having you pressed right up against me,_ he added mentally. The Zaber Fang cockpit wasn't so small that it was uncomfortable for the two of them, but Reese was... endowed. The natural excitement had long ago died off, leaving only the awkwardness.

"Fair enough" Reese replied, reaching over and flicking the switch to open the cockpit. The Zaber Fang lowered itself and popped the canopy, letting Reese and Raven clamber out into the surrounding woods. Shadow and Specula were waiting, standing side by side. Raven had been surprised by how easily the two got along, even though they'd never met before. Reese had pointed out that he didn't know who Shadow had known before Raven had found him, but before Raven had been able to respond, Reese had already gone to check the zoids. She was surprisingly knowledgeable about them – then again, she was surprisingly knowledgeable about a lot of things. And yet, there were vast gaps in her knowledge. Raven had been taken aback when he'd found out Reese wasn't aware of the war between the Empire and the Republic. She hadn't even known about the existence of a Republic on Zi. Her knowledge of the Empire wasn't very good either – it was almost like she was talking about a completely different country.

"Okay, I'll go stock up on supplies. Now just stay close, and _don't say anything._ Towns like this are used by travellers all the time, so we won't draw too much attention, but you, well..." Raven decided to stop before he shot too big a hole in his foot. "...just don't talk to people, okay?" Reese bobbed her head, smiling amicably. The gesture didn't fill Raven with confidence.

* * *

His lack of confidence hadn't been unfounded.

"So, those stripes a lot of people seem to have on their faces; are they cultural tattoos, or kind of like a permanent medal?"

Raven waved the question away. "Not exactly, it's... it's complicated, they're given... ugh, never mind."

"But I'm curious" Reese piped, putting her hands on her hips and causing some of the nearby villagers to glance up. Raven grabbed her hand and hurried her along. "Look, you can't just go round asking questions loudly in the middle of the street" he whispered sharply under his breath. "Especially not questions like that – everyone should know the answer to that one."

"Well, what _is_ the answer?" Raven pinched the bridge of his nose and tried not to groan. "Let's just get the stuff, find a place to stay for the night and carry on tomorrow morning." And before Reese could start asking something else, Raven made a beeline for the inn.

* * *

The place was bare – tables and chairs were in place, but there were no tablecloths, no menus, and no patrons. There wasn't even a bartender.

"Isn't this supposed to be a place with lots of people in it?" Reese asked, thankfully toning her voice down.

"Some people, at least" Raven agreed, going up to the counter and hesitantly tapping the bell. There was no response. Raven tapped the bell again.

"Look, I told you, bring it up at the meeting tonight, I'll explain it-" at this point the speaker came out from the back, polishing a mug and saw the two travellers. "Who are you?" he demanded sharply.

"Uh..." Raven was quite taken aback by the hostility. "W-we're travelling through and we needed a place to stop for the night." The man regarded the two, his face hard and suspicious. Finishing with the mug, he put it up on the shelf, not taking his eyes off the pair.

"Fine" he said eventually. "We're not used to travellers; no-one comes out this way. Just stay in your rooms and don't cause trouble – some of the others might be a little less hospitable."

"Well, if he's the hospitable one, I shudder to think what the others are like" Reese commented to Raven.

* * *

A few minutes later, they were set up in their rooms. Reese had come over and was standing behind Raven as he sat at the windowsill, watching the sunset.

"Are all villages this odd?" Reese asked.

"No" Raven replied. "My village was very nice. Quite friendly."

"You should take me there sometime" Reese suggested. Raven smiled.

"Maybe once I don't need to keep my head down, we can."

"How long _will_ you need to keep your head down, exactly?"

"Dunno" Raven shrugged. "A few months, maybe – enough for the republic to forget about a lone kid in a Zaber Fang."

"That sounds like a long wait"

For a while, they were both silent. Then, Reese spoke up again.

"Have you noticed something odd about this place?"

"You mean apart from the unfriendliness? Can't say I have."

"Look at the people" Reese said. Raven did so. Nothing noticeable. They were going back and forth, doing the normal things village men did...

"That's right" Reese said as Raven sat up, realising what he was seeing. "They're only men. No women, no children. What's behind that, I wonder?"

"...killed in the war, perhaps?" Raven ventured a guess.

"You'd expect the men to be gone then, not the women and children. Besides, this village doesn't look like it's seen fighting... in fact it doesn't look like it's seen much of anything. Can you see any cracking on the plaster?"

"No" Raven replied, getting thoroughly perplexed. "It all looks new"

"Curious" Reese mused. "Maybe we'll be able to find some clues tomorrow." She turned to leave, hands clasped behind her back as she made her way to the door. "Night" she called over her shoulder as she left the room.

* * *

Raven was woken by the door creaking open. Freezing in place, he looked towards the door. The glow of a lantern was just leaving the door frame, making its way down the stairs. Getting up with his eyes fixed on the door, Raven slipped into his shoes as quietly as he could, before tiptoeing up to the door and peering out onto the landing. The lantern was now at the counter, where it illuminated two men, one of whom Raven recognized as the bartender.

"They're asleep" the bartender was saying in a hushed voice "we should be able to slip away without them noticing. As long as I finish early, I'll be back before they wake up."

"It's still not ideal" the other man muttered. "Of all the nights to turn up, they choose _this_ night."

"Eh, just bad timing – they don't look like trouble. Give 'em a meal in the morning, they'll be on their way without a second thought."

"I hope so." The two men stood up, the bartender taking the lantern. "Now let's go, we're cutting it fine as it is – you know how the Doctor gets about his workers slacking off."

Raven watched as the men left the inn. As soon as they were gone, he made his way down the stairs, wincing as the last stair creaked. Making his way across the inn, he pressed himself against the doorframe and peered out into the street. He could just make out the light of the lantern bobbing in the distance, almost out of town by now. It looked like Reese had been right – something odd was happening in this town. Leaving the inn behind, Raven hurried after the lantern, moving as fast as he dared on the crunching sand.

* * *

Even though he knew he was all but invisible this far out, he still felt extremely vulnerable standing in the open, only a dozen or so yards from the low-slung hanger doors set into the mountainside, spotlights illuminating the small side door next to the main entrance. He'd followed the men out of the town towards the mountains. Well before they'd arrived, Raven had been able to see the great steel doors that marked what had to be a government facility of some kind – no civilian organization had permission to make underground facilities. Raven had already begun to slot the pieces together. A village in the middle of nowhere, unwelcoming to strangers, populated only by men, with houses that looked like they'd all been built a year ago; it was a front for whatever this facility contained. What would the Republic want kept secret, and yet away from the capital, where the more secure government research facilities were found?

Raven didn't have time to think that far however. The sound of boots tramping the sand jolted him into panic – but too late.

"Hey, you!" a voice called as Raven looked behind. After looking at the floodlit entrance, his night vision was gone. Unable to see his pursuer, he ran blindly into the darkness. The boots followed, pounding the ground as Raven bolted. He was a fast runner – and indeed, he would have escaped, if he hadn't chosen a path that let the soldier catch him as he ran past.

Raven felt an arm catch him around the waist, knocking the wind out of him. The guard threw him to the ground and pinned him down.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded. "And how did you-"

The guard broke off, loosing his hold on Raven and arching his head back. Raven saw a tall, thin figure standing over the guard, aquamarine eyes glowing as it held a clawed hand on the guard's neck. The guard went limp, falling on the ground next to Raven as Specula stooped down to Raven's level.

"Uh..." he began, looking up at the lanky organoid. "Thanks, I guess."

"I should think so" Reese said, stepping out from behind Specula. "Honestly, sneaking off on your own like that, with no idea what their security was like... I thought you had a bit more sense than that." Reese knelt down to check the guard.

"He'll be out for a few hours" she commented, slipping her hand into his coat pocket and pulling out his passcard. Which means we need to be gone before dawn." There was a soft flap of wings and Shadow landed on the ground next to the others.

"You took your time" Reese observed, not looking up from the passcard. Shadow gave a defensive grumble.

"So, uh... back to the Zaber Fang then?"Raven volunteered.

"What? Oh, goodness me no" Reese said standing up. "I want to find out what's going on here. And because you've made sure we won't be around to investigate tomorrow, we'll have to investigate now." Reese tilted her head, cropped blue hair swinging out to the side as she smiled at Raven. "You _are_ curious to find out what's in there, right?"

"Y-yeah, sure" Raven replied, not entirely sure that he was.

"Excellent." Reese began to make her was towards the side entrance.

"Hey, wait! There's a floodlight!" Raven blurted out.

"I noticed that" Reese called back, not slowing down. "I also noticed they don't have a guard post or security cameras." Raven was about to object, but then Shadow and Specula stepped past him, following Reese. Left outvoted, Raven shrugged in resignation and followed after them.

* * *

Raven and Reese crouched down at the end of the corridor, peering round the corner, the two organoids behind them.

"You sure it's a good idea to have those two with us?" Raven asked, pointing his thumb back at the organoids.

"We're going to raise the alarm as soon as we're seen anyway – may as well take the extra firepower. Besides, we'll need Specula's abilities"

"Yeah, about that – what did you _do_ to that guard?"

"Mental coercion" Reese replied. "Specula can affect people's minds – kind of like technological telepathy. I think. I'm a little fuzzy on the details of how it works. Anyway, main thing is she needs to be in direct physical contact to exert control, so it's kind of limited in use."

"...and you were going to tell me this when, exactly?"

"When I needed to use it. As in, just now." Reese stood up and slipped round the corner. The corridor ended in a lab door with a small glass window. Standing on tiptoe, Reese looked through, dropping back down after a few seconds. "Alright, one guy in a lab coat. You all set, Specula?" The blue organoid nodded. Reese took hold of the door handle, pressing Raven back against the wall as she did. With one last nod at Specula, she wrenched the door open. Specula sprinted in, metallic claws skittering on the gleaming floor as she pounced on the scientist, knocking him unconscious as he hit the floor. Raven looked in. The attack had been eerily silent; Specula had made no noise beyond her footsteps, and the scientist had been taken down before he had a chance to react.

"Have you done this before?" Raven asked Reese as she strode past into the lab.

"What, broken into a lab or had Specula perform a stealthy take-down?" Raven chose not to answer that question, instead coming into the lab, Shadow following behind. Reese was already looking through the shelves and drawers.

"What are you doing?" Raven asked.

"Looking for some kind of clue as to what they're doing here."

"Well, why don't you look on the computer?"

"There's a computer in here?" Reese looked around the room, before fixing on the monitor that Raven was pointing at. "Oh, so _that's_ what it is" Reese said, coming over and sitting in front of the desk. "I was wondering."

"Haven't you seen a computer before?"

"Oh I have – they just didn't look anything like this." Reese looked down at the keyboard, then up at the screen. Finally she twisted round to look at Raven. "Say, you wouldn't know how use this thing, would you?" Giving an amused shake of his head, Raven came over and started tapping away at the keyboard, searching through the files for something that might give them a clue as to what the facility was for. It didn't take Raven long to find it.

"What's wrong?" Reese asked as Raven started in shock, pushing the chair out from the desk. Raven said nothing, but continued to stare at the screen. Reese followed suit, leaning over to peer at the file Raven had opened. It was a personell file, with a photo of an old man. He was balding, with long tails of white hair hanging down in front of his shoulders. His skin was tanned, and he had a sharp, hooked nose. And the eyes... even in this photo, you could see the cold cruelty and disdain in them.

"You know who he is?" Reese asked, drawing her arms around herself as she gave a shiver. Raven nodded.

"Yes. Well, not exactly – no-one knows much about him. He's a scientist for the Republic's weapons research programme. He's brilliant, no doubt about that, but... he has a reputation for being utterly, utterly ruthless – no ethics and no morals. There's a story that when the Republic commisioned him to design a new form of body armour for Republic soldiers, he tested it by fitting it on convicts and then seeing how much firepower it took to kill them." Raven shuddered. "He's feared all over the Republic – they say the President is the only one who isn't afraid of him. Even the generals stay out of his way."

"But who is he?" Reese persisted.

"Well, no-one knows his real name" Raven replied. "But everyone knows him as Dr. D" Reese looked back at the cold, hard gaze of the photo on the screen.

"So why is his file here?"

"Because he's in charge." Raven replied, pulling himself back towards the desk. "He's here in this facility, right now, overseeing construction of whatever it is they're... building..." Raven looked behind him at the lab desk, then back at the screen. Turning again, he got up and came over to the desk in question. There was a tray, with a set of small, iridescent blue objects on it that on closer examination proved to be beetles – metallic, wonderfully delicate beetles, which seemed to be robotic. Picking one up, Raven returned to the computer, perusing the file he had found.

"..okay" he said eventually. "It looks like they're working on cyber warfare – espionage, communications jamming, that sort of thing. These things," Raven held up the robotic insect, "seem to be for infiltrating imperial computer systems; it flies in, controlled by a host zoid, and wires itself up to a data socket, and at that point the zoid has a direct line to control the system. Although I've never heard of zoid capable of... ah, I see."

"What?"

"These beetles aren't the main project – they're a spin-off line of research."

"So what _is_ the main project?" Reese asked, rocking on her heels in impatient excitement.

"Seems to be some kind of insect-type zoid as well" Raven said as the schematics came up. It was a beetle zoid, blue like the miniature beetles, with curved jaws at the front, lined with jagged teeth.

"That looks interesting." Reese said, leaning down to get a better look. "So, it carries the small ones on board, sneaks into imperial territory and hijacks the computer systems?"

"Basically – the bugs are designed to pick up signals directly from the zoid core – they're trying to work on a way to encode the transmission so that only the insect zoid can control them. Right now they just respond to any old zoid core transmission."

Reese gave Raven a curious look as he said this, taking the insect and examining it closer. "Any zoid core transmission?" she repeated, looking at Specula.

"Yeah, that's what I-" Raven stopped in mid-sentence as Reese placed the insect in Specula's claw. Giving a silent nod, Specula bowed her head, concentrating on the insect. For a while, there was nothing. Then, the small bug twitched, buzzing its wings for a second. Then again, this time maintaining it long enough to lift off Specula's claw. Finally, it took to the air, wheeling round Specula and shooting off to the far corner of the lab.

"Brilliant" Reese said as Specula brought the insect back to their end of the room.

"How did she do that?" Raven asked.

"Well, you said the insects responded to any zoid core transmission. I figured that since Specula needs to communicate with a zoid core when she bonds with a zoid, she might be able to affect the insects in the same way. And it worked!"

"So, this helps us... how?" Raven asked, still non-plussed. Reese rolled her eyes in mock exhasperation.

"Come on, I'll show you." Reese said, sweeping the entire tray of insects into her hands, before sweeping out the door herself, leaving Raven to follow her again.

* * *

Raven, Reese and the Organoids stayed crouched around the corner, waiting for the guard to get far enough down the corridor.

"Alright Specula" Reese whispered, holding out one of the insects, "here goes nothing." Specula dipped her head, concentrating as the insect buzzed into the air and swooped around the corner, zig-zagging down the corridor towards the guard. Raven couldn't quite see what happened, but the guard suddenly stopped. Then, turning around, he began to walk back down the corridor.

"Wait" Reese said, putting a hand on Raven's shoulder as he began to back away. "Stay there. Trust me."

"Are you mad?" he hissed, "that guard's coming straight for us! You need to turn Specula on him!"

"Not to worry" Reese replied. Then, to Raven's horror, she straightened up and walked out into the corridor like she was stepping out for a stroll. The guard didn't react. He kept walking down the corridor, seemingly oblivious to the small, blue-haired girl standing in his path. Reese looked sideways at Raven. She gave a mirth-filled smile at the sight of his gobsmacked face, before beckoning for him to come out.

"It's all right" she said. "He's on our side now."

"What did you-"

"Look here" Reese interjected, pointing at the guard. Raven looked – and saw the blue insect sitting on the back of the guard's neck. "As I thought" Reese said, folding her arms in triumph. "The insects act like a long-range receiver for Specula's mind control. With these, we won't need Specula to be right next to the guy. He'll be able to give us access to the secured parts of the base." Reese took the gaurd's unresisting hand and led him down the corridor. Shadow and Specula made to follow, Shadow stopping to look back and check that Raven was following. Catching up to the dark grey organoid, Raven shook his head in exhasperation.

"What the _hell_ is she doing?" he whispered to Shadow. The organoid gave a non-comittal growl, shrugging his metal shoulders. "Is she _trying_ to get us found?"

"Actually" Reese called back, "I'm working to make sure I'm an asset, rather than a liability."

"Uh... you've got good ears" Raven observed, flushing a shade of red.

"Not to mention a sharp mind" Reese added with a wink as the guard opened the door in front of them and stepped aside to let them in. "And a winning personality." Raven rolled his eyes and followed the Organoids through the door. Reese was the last to enter the room beyond, turning back to the guard. "Specula, if you would?" Specula's eyes glowed aquamarine as the guard dropped to the ground without a noise. Reese bent down to retrieve the insect, then turned and strode out into the room. It was a control room of some kind, with low-set windows looking out onto a factory floor. And in the middle of it...

"Wowww... now isn't that something?" Reese cooed as she looked down at the gleaming blue zoid below them, framed in scaffolding and wires. It was the zoid that Raven had seen in the computer lab – a beetle zoid, with two curved horns sprouting from its head, lined with jagged teeth. Some men were on the ground below – two lab assistants in white coats, and an old man in an orange outfit that looked decidely out of place next to his companions.

"That's him" Raven said, voice tinged with anxiety. "That's Dr D." The three talked for a while more, before one of the lab asssistants held up an intercom.

_"Hello? Hello Ulbrecht, come in"_ Raven and Reese both jumped at the sound of the voice on the speakers. _"General call to Professor Ulbrecht, please report to the main hanger"_

Raven breathed a sigh of relief. Just a general announcement, not a direct call. The man below clipped the intercom onto his lab coat pocket.

_"Funny, he's not the type to ignore calls"_ the voices continued to come out of the speakers as the men talked.

_"Well, I hope he doesn't make a habit of it" _Dr D replied gruffly. _"We've got enough red tape to get through as it is – I mean look at it."_ the Doctor gestured at the blue zoid behind him. _"The Double Sworder's been operational for more than a fortnight – except for the data hacking, it's ready to serve on the field. But the brass won't let us take her for a spin. Dammit, they won't even let us fire up the engine!"_

"Hear that?" Reese said, looking sideways at Raven. "It's operational."

"And?"

"...Seriously, you haven't figured it out yet?" Reese asked in surprise. "I'm going to hijack the thing."

"You're _what?_" Raven spluttered. "You're insane!"

"Well we can't both sit in that Zaber Fang cockpit for the rest of the journey" Reese pointed out. "And besides, you always survive longer with a wingman – basic battle tactics, right?"

"But this is a secure facility! You can't just walk in and out with a-"

_"Oh hey, your intercom's still on"_ Raven and Reese turned their heads to look at the men below as the one with the intercom held it up.

_"Oh I don't believe this – the button's jammed down"_

_"Eh, just get the guys in communcations to take it off the system."_

_"They're on their break, though."_

_"No they aren't, look, they're up there."_ The other lab assistant pointed up at Raven and Reese.

_"...we don't have any women on our staff. Least of all one with blue hair." _The other lab assistant dropped the intercom in shock.

_"Holy- intruders! Intruders in the base!"_

The two lab assistants ran for the hanger doors as Raven made a run for the door with a muffled curse. Specula stepped in front of him, long tail sweeping the ground as he came to a stop.

"They'd catch us no problem" Reese said by way of explanation. "Right now the only way to leave is to blast our way out.

"With what?" Raven asked, voice frantic

"With that." Reese tapped the glass, pointing at the Double Sworder. "Now give me a minute to talk things over with Specula..."

_"Hello there young man."_

Raven looked down at the hanger. Dr D was standing with the intercom in his hand, smiling amicably.

"Ignore him" Reese said, putting a hand on Raven's shoulder, before going over to Specula and Shadow. Raven didn't take his eyes off the old man as he looked up at them.

_"I would ask how you got in, but I can see the organoids from here. Oh yes"_ Dr D chuckled at Raven's look of shock. _"I know an organoid when I see one. And those aren't the first I've seen – ah, but I digress. I'm very interested to see what your next move is – if you were able to get this far into the facility without raising the alarm, you'll have a way to get out, I'm quite certain of that. In fact, it looks like your lady friend wants to talk to you."_

Raven looked around to see Reese standing next to him, with the organoids behind her. "Well he's awfully calm; anyway, we're all set. Raven, you get up on Shadow's back and hold on. He knows when to make a break for it, so just stay with him. Specula?" The blue organoid stepped forward. Reese took a hold of her shoulder and hoisted herself up onto the thin, bony shoulderblades. "Alright, let's go. And please remember to break the glass properly, I'd rather not cut myself." Specula gave a rasping growl of acknowledgement, before hunching down and bracing her feet. Reese flattened herself against the organoid and tapped her heels against Specula's flanks. There was a flash of blue, and a wide triangle of light flared out behind Specula, accompanied by a loud roar of boosters as the pair shot across the room and smashed straight through the glass window. Raven had barely recovered from the surprise when he felt Shadow pick him up by his collar and deposit him between his wing mounts. Raven looked back in time to see the flash as Specula sublimed into light and earthed into the Double Sworder. Dr D had been knocked to the ground, and was now staring up at the insect zoid as it began to pull at its metal harness, breaking the scaffolding apart as it flexed its thorax and abdomen. The wing casings strained for a second, then flew open, sending the remains of the scaffolding flying over the entire hanger. The zoid flexed its pincers, snapping them once or twice, before turning round to face the communications room... and then Raven had to rub his eyes to check he wasn't imagining it. The Double Sworder was _growing_ – the legs extended out of their joints in stops and starts, as if building themselves up from the inside. The jaws lifted up, now five times their original size. Then, unfolding its massive wing cases to their fullest extent, the Double Sworder let loose a deafening metallic chitter that made Raven clap his hands to his ears. The sound was like a jackhammer, the vibrations rattling his jawbone as he dimly heard the sound of falling masonry underneath the cacophany. When the noise finally finished, Raven was deafened, unable to hear anything except the ringing in his ears as Shadow unfurled his wings and took off. He swept out into the hanger and climbed up to fly through the hole that had been torn in the ceiling. Raven saw the Double Sworder moving to follow as Shadow curved out of the mountainside and into the night, flying blind for all Raven could tell. He was waiting for Shadow to land, and so when the organoid suddenly rolled in midair, flinging Raven off and into the open cockpit of the Zaber Fang, he landed at a very painful angle. Ignoring the pain in his lower back, Raven fumbled for the controls, closing the cockpit as Shadow bonded with his zoid. He pulled out of the trees, the zoid's night vision kicking in to reveal the Double Sworder, now back to normal size, swooping down to fly above him. "Right" Reese's voice came over the intercom. "Sorry for not explaining things earlier, but I've been working on how to pull this off since yesterday. And I still had to wing it for the last bit. But still, I've got a zoid now. And a good one, if that Dr D fellow's to be believed."

Raven didn't reply for a few seconds. "...and what about the fact that the entire Republic is going to be after us now?"

"Well that's okay, we're crossing over the border anyway."

"Well we might not be able to make it that far now" Raven snapped. Reese was silent for a moment.

"...we _are_ almost at the border, right?"

"No, we're still several days away."

"...well you could have mentioned that _before_ I went into the facility!"

"I didn't get a chance! You charged in before I could say anything!"

"Wh-... So now we're... oh bloody hell..."

"Not to mention Dr D has the ear of the President herself, so we'll be lucky if we don't get the secret service after us as well."

Raven didn't recognise any of the words Reese used next, but there was no doubt as to their meaning.

* * *

"Sir, are you alright?"

Dr D sat on floor looking up at the hole in the roof. He didn't resist the lab assistants who helped him up, or the medic who started dabbing the blood off his temple. "Incredible..." he breathed, a look of childlike glee on his face. "Such power... and yet completely different from Flyheight's one! And the boy's organoid had _wings!_ Why, the possibilties... if they can have wings, why not weapons? And if that blue one can make a zoid grow, what else could they do? Enhance the armor? Change the zoid completely?" Dr D let out a low chuckle of mirth, which quickly became a loud cackle of laughter. When he calmed down, he reacted to the assistants' presence for the first time. "No need for that" he said, waving away the medic's cotton swab and putting his hand on the shoulder of the nearest assistant. "Get me Colonel Krueger on the phone right now, he'll want to hear this..."

* * *

Van and Fiona stepped into the Colonel's office, Fiona taking a seat and stretching her legs out as Van gave Krueger a cheery salute. "So Gramps, what's got you so excited." Krueger waved for Van to sit down. "Well, originally I was just going to enlist your help with the battle at Kronos, but while you were en route, I got a call from an old friend of ours - you remember Dr D?"

"That old nutcase?" Van replied as he sat down. "Yeah, I remember him. What's the old fossil been up to?"

"Working on a new espionage zoid" Krueger replied. "Or at least he _was_ until someone broke in, stole the prototype and blasted their way out again."

"Hah!" Van slapped his knee as he gave a short bark of laughter. "I knew it! I knew he wouldn't be able to handle proper security!"

"Well, that's as maybe. The workers didn't see the zoid the thieves came in, but afterwards, while they were looking for some kind of clue, they found the tracks the zoid left behind – and there's no doubt it was a Zaber Fang."

"Oh, so the empire sent in a strike team?"

"No – a Godos patrol reporting sighting a Zaber fang about 200 miles east of that facility a day ago. This Zaber Fang didn't come in from the Empire – it came out from Republic territory. Also, a week ago, a deep patrol reported a kid finding a Zaber Fang next to an abandoned fortress near one of the desert villages. This has to be the same guy. The army's going to put out a bounty first thing-"

"Look, why are you even telling me this?" Van interrupted, throwing his hands up. "If he's going on the bounty list anyway, I'll see him there."

"Because this will interest you, Van. And you too, Fiona."

"Oh, is that so?" Fiona leaned forwards, her icy voice sending a chill down Krueger's neck. Fiona had a way of cowing the bravest of men. Her cold, red eyes spoke of a disdain for... just about everything. After a minute or so you got the unshakeable feeling that she wouldn't give so much as a concerned look if you keeled over and died right in front of her. If anything, she'd watch on in vague amusement.

"Y-yes, it will." Krueger pulled himself together. "Because here's the thing; Dr D was very specific on this point. There were two of them, a boy with black hair and a girl with blue hair; _and there were two organoids with them._" Fiona and Van both started out of their chairs.

"What? Are you sure about that?" Van asked, leaning on the desk.

"Positive" Kreuger replied. "Two organoids, one black, one blue. I figured that since you two are always looking for any clues to this "Zoid Eve" Fiona keeps referring to, you'd appreciate getting a head start over any other potential bounty hunters."

Van and Fiona were silent for a while. Krueger sat back and pressed his fingers together. "You don't have to accept, of course, but I'm intending to give you an extended break from assignments after your job at Kronos, in case you want to pursue this further."

"Thank you for being so thoughtful, sir" Fiona said, standing up and walking to the door. "I shall leave you two to discuss logistics. Van, I'll wait for you at the Shield Liger."

"Sure thing Fiona" Van replied, waving goodbye as she closed the door behind her.

Once outside, Fiona took a deep breath, then ran down the corridor, coming out into the hanger. Zeke the Organoid looked up from where he lay, curled up at the foot of Van's jet-black shield liger. Fiona came to a stop in front of him, kneeling down to his level. She took Zeke's head in her hands and looked him straight in the eye.

"Zeke." she said, very low and quiet. "I don't know how it's possible, but someone _survived_. There's two organoids out there right now, working together."

Zeke gave a snarl of hate, his eyes flashing bright red as his claws gouged lines in the concrete. Fiona put her hand on his snout, calming him down. "Not to worry dear – there's no way they can know we're even alive, let alone what we're planning. And even if they did, no organoid is a match for you, remember? Think of how many times we defeated those who tried to stop us. Think about what it took to force us into hiding. Two organoids? They don't have a chance of stopping us." Fiona leaned against the silvery skin of the organoid, closing her eyes as she stroked Zeke's muzzle. "Don't worry... there's only so many places to hide something like Zoid Eve. We'll find it. And when we do..." Fiona gave a giggle of laughter that echoed through the hanger, a thin, cruel sound that left a sense of lingering dread as it died away.


	5. The Transporter

_Still haven't found a way to stop from destroying the scene breaks I put in the proper document version..._

**Zoids: Mirror Universe**

**Ep.5 – The Transporter**

"Your highness, our armies are fatigued, and the rebels give them no chance to regroup between strikes. We must pull back our front line forces to consolidate and-"

"I will not allow the glorious imperial army to be seen running with its tail between its legs, nor will I willingly concede territory to the rebels."

War Minister Prozen clenched his fist under him as he stood bowed in front of the throne, but said nothing. He knew from past meetings that Emperor Rudolph Zeppelin II would not listen to reason. He would send every able-bodied man in the empire to his death before he admitted to a fault in judgment. As it was, Prozen could barely persuade the emperor to allow more men to join the front line, supremely confident as he was in the imperial army's ephemeral invincibility.

"Very well, your highness" Prozen said cordially, straightening and turning to leave, simmering with frustration. If this continued much longer, the Guylos Empire would be ground into dust by the Republic – how Prozen longed to attempt to reach a resolution, to negotiate a ceasefire, allow them some territory even, if only there could be an end to the bloodshed and a return to peace. But the emperor would never allow it. Prozen reached the courtyard, acknowledging the salutes from the guards, before continuing on towards his private chambers. His knee-length boots tapped against the stone floor as he walked with his hands clasped behind his back, his face solemn. He was rapidly running out of options that didn't involve usurping the emperor's authority, and that he could not risk – if the emperor stripped Prozen of his rank because of insubordination, it would be a month before a new war minister was chosen. The republic could get halfway to the capital in that time. And the other option... Prozen would never risk an attempt on the emperor's life – he would need to assassinate both the emperor, and his grandson, the prince regent. One accidental death might raise a little suspicion, but for both of them to die at once... he might as well shoot the royals himself and avoid the bother of the investigation.

Prozen arrived in his chambers, sitting down in his chair and pouring a glass of wine. Sitting back in the chair, Prozen closed his eyes, massaging his brow to work out the stress. Some minutes, and half a glass later, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in" Prozen said with his eyes closed, taking another sip of wine as his subordinate, Lieutenant Hardin came in.

"Lord Prozen, our spy network has sent in a message..."

"...later" Prozen replied, waving Hardin away.

"...they've labeled it priority two" she added. Prozen opened his eyes, looking at Hardin with curiosity.

"What did they find?"

"The Republic has just put out a bounty on some escaped criminals. Not something to worry about usually, except that the alert specifically states that one of the runaways is in an Imperial Zaber Fang."

Prozen raised an eyebrow. "How did a Zaber Fang get into Republic territory without my knowledge?"

"It gets better – the official story is that a pair of Imperial spies infiltrated a secret research compound and stole secret republican hardware."

The eyebrow raised a little further. "_Us_ stealing _their_ hardware?"

Hardin nodded. "It's clearly a cover for something. Our spy network did some snooping to try and find out what, and... well, quite frankly they felt they should report it, regardless of how unlikely it is to be true. The rumour is that the escapees have an _organoid_ with them."

"Curious" Prozen sat up, his tiredness forgotten as he mulled over the information. "I think" he said after a period of silence, "that whatever these 'imperial spies' have, the Republic wants it back without making it public knowledge. That fact alone makes it worth our while to investigate. I want a general alert put out. These escapees are to be brought in – without force, mind you – to see me. If they really are Republic turncoats, they may be able to give us valuable strategic knowledge."

"Yes, Lord Prozen" Hardin replied, bowing and turning to leave.

* * *

There was a crashing thud of laser bolts hitting sand and Raven pulled the Zaber Fang to the right, away from it. The Double Sworder swooped overhead, snaking back and forth to throw off the laser fire that was being directed at it.

"Have you tried hailing them?" Reese asked over the comm.

"Of course not, they're sleepers!"

"They look pretty awake to me."

"No, sleepers, sleeper zoids – they install a combat computer in the cockpit and then bury the zoids at strategic locations – like minefields, except they can chase you."

"And what happens when they attack civilians?"

"They're programmed to know the difference between military and civilian zoids. They usually get it right." Raven swerved left, barely avoiding another short hail of laser fire from the pursuing Guysacks. "Look, just keep running and they'll give up eventually."

"How soon is 'eventually'?"

"Hell if I kn-" Raven stopped in mid-sentence.

"What is it?" Reese asked.

"Look up ahead."

A mile or so ahead of them, a large, lumbering form could be seen dragging a pair of blocky containers behind it – a Gustav. Only, it wasn't alone. Some of the sleeper Guysacks were keeping pace with it, firing shots at the Gustav's drive train.

"He won't last more than a few minutes at this rate." Raven said, spurring the Zaber Fang forwards. "Come on, we can't just stay here and let him get torn to shreds."

"Raven, we can barely keep ourselves in one piece" The Double Sworder rolled, shaking off another salvo of fire.

"And that Gustav might as well be standing still" Raven replied. "All the armor in the world won't help it if the wheels get mangled. The guy in there-"

"Oi!" An angry female voice broke into the conversation over the intercom. "Are you two gonna help, or are you gonna stay there and let these zoids blow up my cargo?"

"...the girl in there needs our help." Raven finished up. At this point the Zaber Fang came in range of the Gustav. Raven aimed a short burst of beam fire at the sand around the transport zoid, causing the pursuing Guysacks to break off and address the more immediate threat.

"Well that was clever" Reese quipped over the intercom. "Now we've got twice as many to deal with."

Raven gripped the controls, ready to lay down suppressing fire. The Guysack swarm began to flank its prey... and then slowed to a halt, burying under the sand as Raven and Reese reached the Gustav.

"That was odd" Reese commented. "What happened?"

"We must have got outside the area they're programmed to guard" Raven replied. "Reese, are you-"

"Hey, buddy" the angry voice growled over the intercom. "You get over here right now – and your lady friend as well. I want to talk."

"Can't argue with that attitude" Reese said in a resigned tone of voice.

* * *

Raven clambered out of the Zaber Fang as the cockpit hissed open. Reese had already landed the Double Sworder and was standing by the Gustav with Shadow and Specula. The driver of the Gustav was currently underneath the chassis, muttering all manner of oaths and curses. As Raven reached his companions, the driver wriggled her way out and stood up, brushing the hair out of her face. She was a comely girl – young, with curly black hair. Her skin was a dark, warm shade of brown, accentuated by the bright orange tunic she wore. Her bare arms were finely toned, as was the rest of her body – indeed she would have been quite beautiful if she hadn't had such a foul expression on her face.

"As I thought, the drive train couldn't take the speed – I'll have to stop to repair it if I don't want the engine to blow up before I get to the border. And it'll need an overhaul next time I take a pit stop. Damn!" She slammed her fist against the armor over the Gustav's front wheels. "That's half a paycheck! Which I hold you responsible for," she added, pointing an imperious finger at Raven. "It's your fault I got ambushed, I expect you to pay for this."

"Wait" Raven piped, waving his hands in front of him. "we can't pay you! We don't have any money!"

"Oh you don't." the girl folded her arms, a smirk crossing her face. "Well, if you can't pay in cash, you can pay in man-hours. You can escort me for the rest of my trip."

"Now look," Raven started, "we can't do that either, we-"

"Oh no you don't" the girl interrupted. "I'm not done yet. You _are_ going to escort me – if you know what's good for you." She pointed at the Zaber Fang behind Raven. "That's the Zaber Fang the Republic has a bounty out on – you're the fugitives everyone's after. If you don't escort me, I'll be telling the authorities I saw you, first town I reach. And don't even think about trying to finish me off to keep me quiet – my clients have a lot of influence, and if I go missing, they'll come to find out why – I have a reputation for never being behind schedule, so they'll suspect something's up if I'm not right on time."

Raven clenched his fists. They could have done without this – it was going to be hard enough getting over the border into Imperial Territory anyway, a diversion now could cost them dearly.

"Come on" the girl said impatiently. "Either you come with me to buy my silence, or you risk having your escape route completely blocked off."

"Raven" Reese whispered, coming over to him "I don't like this."

"Me neither" Raven whispered back. "But it doesn't look like we have much choice. We'll just have to hope she keeps her word."

"You decided?" the girl prompted.

"Yes, we'll come" Raven replied. Satisfied with this, the girl turned to climb back into the cockpit of the Gustav.

"We'll head for that ruin up ahead" she said, opening the cockpit hatch. "It'll give us some shelter against the desert winds during the night."

"Uh-huh" Raven replied. "By the way, what was your name?"

"Moonbay" the girl replied as she dropped into her seat. "Now get back into your zoids, I'm not going to wait around for you."

* * *

The land around the imperial capital was verdant green, fertile and lush with forest – a sharp contrast to the hard, brown desert that surrounded the Republic capital, New Helic. It was a beautiful, calming sight. Looking out over the forest, one could easily imagine the war wasn't happening. Rosso wondered if that was deliberate.

"Viola, how are we doing?" Viola stepped out from behind the bushes and came up to where Rosso was sitting against a tree on the edge of the forest.

"Well, considering these command wolves had to be disassembled, smuggled over the border piece by piece and then reassembled in the middle of the woods, with no factory facilities, we're doing bloody brilliantly." Viola sat down next to Rosso and leaned back against the tree. "Honestly, using republic zoids so the government wastes time looking for them while we make a getaway in the Redlers? If you weren't ex-military, I'd swear you had a screw loose."

"Maybe I do" Rosso replied.

"And maybe you're sitting here because you're trying to calm your nerves."

"What nerves?" Rosso asked innocently.

"Oh come on" Viola replied, ruffling his bright red hair, "we're about to pull off the heist of the century – kidnapping the crown prince out from under the nose of the emperor himself? That takes guts, my friend. Either that or a death wish, but if that was the case you'd have been a smear on the ground years ago. Come on boss, we can pull it off."

Rosso shrugged. "Well, that's the risk with a novel strategy – if something's never been tried before, you don't know whether it will work." For a while, the two sat looking at the view, the muffled sounds of construction coming from the woods behind.

"So, what're you going to do with your share of the ransom money?" Viola asked.

"Hire myself some cronies, plus any of the others that still want to come along, steal a republic hammerhead and become a proper sea pirate."

Viola laughed. "Seriously?"

"Hey, people have done crazier things – and besides, whale kings take too many people to crew. How about you? Go home and see the family?" Viola gave a 'pshah' of amusement.

"My grandmother would have a fit when she found out I was a bandit. Not sure how my sister would cope either" Viola stretched her arms above her head. "She was always an annoying little whelp, but I don't think she really deserves to have to deal with that. No," Viola paused for a yawn, "I'll do the self-sacrificing thing and go off to spend my money on all the things I promised myself I'd save up for some day."

"Be a little hard to keep that stuff while you're on the run, wouldn't it?"

"Not if I join you on that hammerhead of yours and stash it all in the secret pirate treasure cave on the coast."

Rosso gave a booming guffaw, almost drowning out Viola's high peal of laughter. After a few moments and a few deep breaths to calm down, Viola craned her neck to look up at the foliage. "So" she said finally. "The last great heist of the Desert Alcavalino Gang begins."

"Pity we never did get to the desert" Rosso mused. "I've always felt a bit guilty about keeping the name"

"Eh" Viola patted Rosso on the shoulder "we're still the same bunch of crooks who got together all those years ago. Our goals might have changed, but our priorities stayed the same. Well," Viola leaned against Rosso's shoulder, idly stroking his arm, "mostly."

"Ah, Viola." Rosso put his arm around her, drawing her in. "What would I have been without you?"

"A big red-haired lummox with a price on his head and not much else" she replied with a grin, lightly prodding the end of his nose with her finger before snuggling in closer.

* * *

Moonbay sat in front of the heat lamp, munching her way through a bar of travel rations. Raven and Reese sat at a distance from her, their organoids behind them. An uncomfortable silence had hung over them for several minutes now, and Raven was beginning to feel edgy.

"Oh, this is ridiculous" Moonbay said suddenly, leaning back and resting on her elbows. "Come on, talk, complain, do _something_."

"Did you really expect us to be in a talkative mood after you blackmailed us into following you?" Reese replied icily. Moonbay shrugged.

"Eh, you take things too personally."

"Personally? You're willing to betray us to the-"

"Thing about betraying" Moonbay interjected, "is that you need to have some loyalty to the people you're betraying. I don't have any loyalty to anyone. As long as I'm getting paid, and not getting shot at, I don't care how big a bounty you've got on your head, I am _not_ going to stick my neck out just to try and catch you, if that's what you're worried about. I'm bringing you along to protect my cargo from more attacks, that's all."

"Why didn't you take protection in the first place?" Raven asked.

"Too expensive – besides, didn't know the republic had put down sleeper traps in this area – it was clear last time I came through."

"Yes, why did they attack you?" Reese asked, a tone of suspicion creeping into her voice.

"Dunno" Moonbay shrugged. "Must've assumed I was with you two."

"You were nowhere near us" Reese replied. "Why would they attack an unarmed transport zoid?"

"Not. A. Bloody. Clue." Moonbay replied haughtily. Reese gave a 'chuh' of disgust and stood up. "Come on" she said to the organoids as she left to go deeper into the ruins. "Let's get some fresh air."

"What's she got stuck up hers?" Moonbay asked in an attempt at humour. Raven didn't reply.

"Come on, you know how it is," Moonbay continued in a friendlier tone, shifting round to where Raven was sitting. "It's a dangerous world out there at the moment, if a girl doesn't look out for herself, who will?" Getting no answer, Moonbay tucked her legs to the side. Leaning on one hand, she brought her face a little closer to Raven's. "Look, we both know the Republic's just as bad, if not worse, than the Empire. What's there to be loyal to?" Moonbay gave a sigh that sent a tickle of breath past Raven's ear. "You know" she said, putting a hand on Raven's shoulder, "it gets hard sometimes, being a lone transporter. Sure, the pay's good, but you miss out on the little things... nights at the bar... soft beds... human contact..." Moonbay's other hand slid round Raven's neck to his other shoulder. She leaned against Raven, looking up at him with liquid brown eyes. Raven glanced down at her – and promptly averted his gaze from her tunic, which was beginning to ride down her torso. "You okay there?" Moonbay asked gently, tilting her head coquettishly to the side.

"Erm... y-yeah, I'm fine." Raven replied with a cough.

"That's good to hear." Moonbay replied. Her hands slid over Raven's shoulders, creeping towards the neck before clasping in front...

"You know I should probably check on Reese" Raven said, standing up suddenly, leaving Moonbay to flounder on the ground. "You know... old ruins, probably quite dangerous."

Moonbay pouted as Raven beat a hasty retreat in the direction Reese had gone. Turning back to the heat lamp, she pulled her top back up. "Almost had him, too..." she muttered.

* * *

Prince Rudolph Zeppelin III sat at the table, reclining on the couch with a bored look on his face. He barely acknowledged the servant who brought his afternoon tea in, merely waving him off once he'd put the tray down.

"I wonder if grandfather will listen to Prozen this time?" he mused out loud.

"Unlikely, sire" his manservant replied. "Is there anything else I should send for?"

"No, not for now" Rudolph replied, picking up the coffee and taking a sip.

"Hmm, he forgot the sugar" the crown prince commented.

"I shall see to him myself, sir" the manservant replied.

"Come now Steiner, you know the rules – first slip up we let it pass with just a warning, second we dock 5 credits from their pay, third we fire them. He's only on his second strike. Nothing will make a system fall apart quicker than inconsistent leadership. Something grandfather never learned... I only hope he croaks before the empire falls to the republic."

"Sir!" Steiner exclaimed in shock.

"Oh calm down Steiner, I'm not suggesting speeding the process – it's simply how it is. His leadership is killing what will one day be my empire, and I want it to actually still be around when I succeed him." Rudolph helped himself to some of the bread, buttering it as he continued talking. "I'm telling you now Steiner, if I get into power, this war's going to be over in a fortnight. And that's assuming the Republic take their time about agreeing to the peace treaty."

"You would surrender to the rebels?"

"I would ensure that the rebels felt they had won, while still maintaining control of a country. Once peace is declared, then we can start undermining their rule with trade, espionage and things of that nature – much more effective, much less wasteful of lives that could be put to better use in the local economy. Why, I'd go so far as to say-"

A blast of cannon fire shook the ground, cutting the prince off. A second blast hit the lawn outside the dining room, causing the windows to shatter. Prince Rudolph flung up his arms, shielding his eyes against the blasts that continued pounding the ground outside. His manservant came up behind, yelling to be heard above the noise.

"Sire! We must get you out of here! We must-" Rudolph looked around as there was a thump, and Steiner collapsed onto the ground. Behind him, a tall, burly man with flaming red hair stood, holstering the gun he'd used to knock the man out.

"What is the meaning-" Rudolph began, before Rosso swept him up under one arm and charged through the broken window, running down the path that had been carved through the palace's gardens and walls. The command wolves blasted the last pile of debris clear, and one came forward, lowering its head to ground level. Rosso vaulted into the cockpit without even skipping a beat, even as the bandit inside climbed out of the cockpit to let Rosso take the controls. The canopy closed, and the wolf leaped away from the wall, joining the other wolf as it vanished into the forest.

"Unhand me!" Rudolph demanded, struggling futiley against Rosso's grip. "Unhand me you bastard!"

Rosso looked down at the small boy and raised an eyebrow. "They teach you language like that in the palace?"

"Whatever it is you're trying, it won't work!" Rudolph retorted.

"Oh, so the Empire won't want to pay a mere king's ransom for the heir to the empire? Well that's a pity, I was so looking forward to retiring."

* * *

"Hi" Raven mumbled as he came up behind Reese. She and the organoids were sitting on the shore of a small oasis in the middle of the ruin. The moon was out now, the pale light accenting Reese's vibrant blue hair. Reese looked over her shoulder as Van sat down.

"How was our employer?" Reese replied in a dry tone.

"Don't ask." Raven sat down next to Reese, idly stroking Shadow's neck.

"Trying to extort more services out of you?"

Raven was glad the darkness hid his blush. "Sort of. I don't think she's actually trying to cause us trouble, she just wants things to go her way, is all."

"If only" Reese replied, hanging her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Specula and I snuck a look at Moonbay's cargo when we left." Reese looked up and fixed her eyes on Raven. "She's carrying weapons, Raven."

"What?"

"It's true" Reese continued. "And not just infantry weapons, but ammunition for zoids as well. She's a weapons dealer." Raven sat back, a dazed look on his face.

"Who are they for?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Reese said carefully, "but I think the sleeper trap gave the answer."

"The sleeper trap?"

"It attacked her, right? But why would it attack a civilian transport? Unless it recognized the cargo as imperial?"

"I... I don't know" Raven replied, looking dumbly at the water, trying to distract his mind with the pale white reflection of the moon, the red...

Raven's eyes shot up to the ridge on the opposite side of the oasis. A small red dot could be seen on the ridge, barely visible – but Raven knew enough to recognise a zoid's IR camera when he saw it.

"What's wrong?" Reese asked as Raven scrambled to his feet.

"The sleepers" Raven replied as he ran for the campsite. "They've followed us!"

* * *

"You blithering idiot!" Moonbay yelled at Raven as she scrambled for the Gustav, leaving the heat lamp behind. "Why didn't you remember Republic sleepers like to lure people into ambushes _earlier?_"

"You could have remembered it yourself!" Raven yelled back as the Zaber Fang launched out of its lying position into full combat readiness. Shadow was right behind him, unfurling his wings as he ran, before going into a sharp upwards swoop, and earthing his energy form into the Zaber Fang with a metallic roar. "Stay behind us Moonbay!" Raven called over the comm as Reese's Double Sworder hovered into the air with a buzz of wings and a blast of wind, "We'll punch through the sleepers, you stay on our tail!" The Zaber Fang sprinted up the slope, claws slipping on the loose sand as it tried to crest the dune before a swarm of Guysacks arrived to block its exit. The Double Sworder swooped low over the Zaber Fang's head as they crested the dune. The desert in front of them was clear, but if anything that made things worse – the Guysacks could burst out of the sand from any direction. Behind them, the Guysack strained to get out of the ruins, dragging its heavy cargo behind it.

"What the hell?" Raven spluttered over the comm "Why did you bring the trailers? There's no way you can drive at top speed with a full load!"

"I don't care, I am _not_ going to abandon my cargo! Now get me out of here!"

"Not going to abandon your _weapons_ you mean." Reese said icily. "We know you're an arms dealer, Moonbay, and we know that you're the reason the Guysacks attacked in the first place. They could detect your imperial cargo coming miles away. If we were to just leave you here, I'm pretty sure they'd tear your Gustav to scrap, so you can stop giving the orders and start following them. _We_ are getting out of here, and if you want to get out as well, you're going to follow _our_ lead. Understood?"

There was a deadly silence of a half-dozen seconds. Finally, in a voice seething with fury, Moonbay acknowledged Reese's ultimatum.

"I'll get you for this" she hissed over the comm.

"Are you sure that was a wise idea?" Raven asked Reese on a private channel as the Zaber Fang went into a rolling bound, steering in the direction they'd been heading the previous day.

"I don't know, and I don't care" Reese replied hotly. "I am _not_ going to let that scarlet hussy order me around."

Any reply Raven might have made was cut off by the sudden insistent beeping of a hostile zoid appearing on the sensors. Then another. And another. Soon, the desert all around them was speckled with red dots, which were now closing around them in a noose. "Reese!" Raven called, "Swoop down and soften up the ones in front! I'm going to give them a taste of the beam cannons!" The Double Sworder's tusks dipped as it went into a quick dive, skimming the sand and letting off a cacophanous chittering noise that made Raven's teeth buzz. The effect was much more substantial on the Guysacks – the majority of them wavered, swerving from side to side, and some of the ones in the direct line of the sonic attack even stumbled and crashed, cockpits sparking. The Double Sworder swooped up as it reached the first rank of Guysacks, going into a long, high loop even as the Zaber Fang began spraying the disorientated zoids with beam fire, ripping through them like nails through paper. By the time the Zaber Fang reached the first of the downed scorpions, it had succeeded in carving a path through to the desert beyond. "Come on!" he called over the comms. "Get through the gap! Hurry!" The Zaber Fang charged through, jinking left and right to avoid the crumpled heaps of metal. Behind it, the Gustav plowed onwards, trailers barely holding together as it made a straight beeline for the gap, shouldering downed Guysacks out of its path by dint of brute strength. Behind it, the Double Sworder completed its loop and skimmed over the top of the trailer, drawing level with the Zaber Fang a hundred or so metres further ahead.

"You know it's not going to be this easy" Reese said over the comm. "They're going to chase us like they did before."

"I know" Raven replied grimly. "But we can't take them all on – even if we didn't get surrounded, there's enough of them to wear our zoids into the sand. All we can do is run and hope they give up before our zoid's drive trains do."

"Aaahh!" Moonbay cried over the comm as bolts of laser fire impacted in the sand around her. "Ah! Aiieee! Oh I'm gonna kill you for this Raven, this is all _your_ fault! Ohgod ohgod, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna-"

"Will you _shut up!_" Reese snapped over the comms. "I am _this_ close to coming back there and finishing you off myself!"

"You wouldn't dare." Moonbay said shakily.

"Try me" Reese replied with a growl, and Raven was left wondering if she actually would follow through on that threat.

A growl from Shadow brought his attention to the radar. They had drawn level with the mountain range and were now running alongside, a wave of blips clinging on their tails. Then, even as Raven looked, a slew of signals popped into existence in front of them. A massive band of signals, easily the size of the swarm chasing them, erupted out of the sand and moved to flank them, trapping them against the cliff face. Only Shadow's second, insistent growl prevented him from slipping into blank panic. He looked again – and now saw that there was a gap in the mountainside – a narrow pass between two spires of rock. There was just enough room for a medium-sized zoid to charge through.

"Follow me" Raven called over the comms. "Quickly, before they cut us off!" Raven veered the Zaber Fang towards the gap, checking that the Double Sworder and Gustav were falling in line behind him. It was going to be a close call – the canyon had turns and switchbacks that the Gustav would have a lot of trouble getting through, especially with the trailers.

"Moonbay" Raven called back. "This is going to get pretty tight, you might have to ditch the trailers."

"No!" Moonbay yelled back. "I have never lost a shipment, and I'm not going to start now! This is your fault anyway, why should I pay for it?" Raven didn't bother to argue the point. At least the canyon was giving them some ground; the Guysacks were all trying to cram themselves into the canyon at once, and were slowing themselves down considerably as they trickled in. Raven lost sight of them behind the first bend, and he turned all his attention to navigating the path ahead. It was treacherous going – Zaber Fangs had only the most basic of night sensors, and there were plenty of occasions where only Shadow's reflexes prevented them from hitting the canyon finally, they began to reach the end.

"I can see the other side of the mountains!" Reese called as she flew high above the ravine. "Just another mile!"

"AAAAAHHH!" A shriek from Moonbay cut across them, and Raven skidded to a stop. The inevitable had happened – the two trailers had become jammed in an especially narrow bend, leaving the Gustav stuck.

"Help! Get me out of here!" she wailed as the Gustav's wheels churned in the sand.

"Dump the trailers!" Raven yelled. "It's your only chance!"

"Never! I'm not abandoning my cargo! _Do_ something you selfish, ungrateful little-"

"Raven, look out! The Guysacks are catching up!"

"_Please_ Moonbay! There isn't any other option, you _have_ to lose the trailers!"

"No! I can still do this!" The Gustav switched into reverse, trying to dislodge the trailers; if anything, they became more stuck.

"Raven, we've got to leave!" Reese called. "The Guysacks will be here any second, and if they shoot that ammunition, we're all dead!"

"But-"

"Leave her! She's refusing to listen to reason, and it was her fault we got into this mess in the first place – she brought this on herself."

"What? No!" Moonbay cried as Raven reluctantly turned away and ran down the canyon. "Don't leave me! Come back! Come back here you, stinking, gutless brat! You're dead, you hear me? I'll hire every bounty hunter in the Republic to bring me your head in a bag! Come back here!"

* * *

"We should have done something" Raven said quietly to Reese as they cleared the canyon.

"Don't" Reese said firmly. "Don't feel guilty about this. This isn't your fault. You told her to dump the trailers, and she refused. She's got no-one to blame but her own greed."

At that moment, an explosion lit up the night sky, followed shortly after by a shockwave of sound. Raven looked around to see the rapidly cooling plume of fire mushroom out of the canyon.

"Not your fault Raven." Reese repeated firmly. "Not your fault. And don't you dare think so for a moment. People die. In war, they die violenty, more often than not. The immediate reaction when someone dies next to you, but you don't, is to blame yourself. But you can't – if you do it'll eat you away from the inside."

"...you talk like you know a lot about this kind of thing." Raven said eventually. Reese remained silent.

"Let's get going" Raven said, changing the subject. "We want to be well away from here before anyone comes to investigate."

* * *

In the canyon, the tight turn had become a rubble-filled crater. A large pile of charred Guysacks was heaped at the edge – those that had survived were already turning to go back to their hiding places, their quarry neutralized. The Gustav's purple-pink armor had been charred black, and the entire zoid had been flipped onto its back. All was silent, save for the hissing tick of cooling metal. Then, there was a dull crack, and the canopy popped open, dropping a few feet before it hit the ground. A sound of muffled cursing came from inside, and Moonbay reached out onto the sand, fumbling for a hold, before starting to squeeze her way out. Finally, wiping the smoke out of her cuts and bruises, she tried to stand, lost her balance as the change in altitude made her woozy, and dropped to her hands and knees.

"Dead..." she croaked as she crawled clear of the Gustav. "You're dead, kid. Even if I have to strangle you myself..."


End file.
